Ministry May Use Private Ferry To Lodge Evacuees
Japan's Defense Ministry is considering offering a ferry as temporary accommodation for evacuees from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak.
The evacuees have been transported from Wuhan aboard government-chartered flights. They are being housed at a hotel in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, and elsewhere in the capital after being checked by medical professionals.
The ministry plans to offer evacuees the use of the 17,000-ton ferry Hakuou. The ministry has a contract to use the privately owned vessel to transport Self-Defense Force units.
The vessel was also used to allow survivors of a powerful quake that hit Hokkaido, northern Japan, in 2018 to take baths.
In the current case, the ferry may be docked at a port in or near Tokyo.
