INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A British couple in quarantine on board a cruise ship in Japan have begged British authorities to get them home, as coronavirus cases on
board the Diamond Princess rise.David Abel has been documenting his experience on board the ship, which has been docked off the coast of
Yokohama in Japan for around three weeks.According to Johns Hopkins University, which is mapping the outbreak, there have been 355 confirmed
cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, on board the ship - the highest amount outside China.Image:The ship is anchored off
Yokohama port 7 February: David Abel details his quarantineSpeaking in a YouTube live stream on Sunday morning from the ship, he said he had
not heard "anything" from the UK government.He said: "All we've got is a message about an hour ago from the embassy based in Tokyo, to say
they've acknowledged the Americans are taking their folk home today
Canadians are going to be following soon
The Australians are probably going to be soon after."The UK government, through the ambassador here in Tokyo, has said the World Health
Organization acknowledges all of this action taking place but with regard to the United Kingdom it's not likely we will be repatriated."US
officials have been airlifting its citizens on board the ship back to the country on Sunday, amid the rising number of people being tested
positive for COVID-19, with the Japanese defence ministry saying around 300 US citizens had been allowed off the vessel.Canadians, Italians
and those from Hong Kong have also been told they will be leaving the ship in due course.Mr Abel adds: "It leaves us feeling like we are not
wanted back in the UK - border control have put the barriers up and are saying 'no'."US citizens are being evacuated from the Diamond
PrincessImage:Hundreds of people have tested positive for the virus on boardHe has previously hit out at Prime Minister Boris Johnson,
saying he had "no confidence" in him, despite being a "staunch Tory".Mr Abel has also begged billionaire Richard Branson for help, asking
him how much it would cost to charter a Virgin plane to fly the UK citizens on board to Brize Norton to allow them to undertake their
quarantine back home."Whatever the cost, we will somehow find a way of paying for that plane."Don't know how but we wouldn't want you to be
out of pocket on that."But this is just how damned desperate some of the passengers are becoming."Another ship, the MS Westerdam, docked in
Cambodia on Thursday after being rejected from several other ports
A woman from the US who had travelled on the ship then flew to Malaysia, and was later found to have contracted COVID-19.According to Johns
Hopkins University, 1,655 people have died as a result of contracting COVID-19, most of whom are in China.On Saturday, a man died in France
from the illness, marking the first death in Europe.In the UK, all but one of those who had been hospitalised for the virus have been
