Virus spreads on ship in Japan, American passengers set to disembark

FILE PHOTO: A passenger wearing a mask stands on the desk of the cruise ship Diamond Princess, as the vessel's passengers continue to be tested for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan February 13, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - Hundreds of passengers were preparing to be evacuated from a cruise ship on Sunday after spending two weeks under quarantine off Japan over the coronavirus, with Americans expected to begin flying home on chartered planes as soon as Sunday evening.

Seventy more people were confirmed with the virus on board the Diamond Princess on Sunday, bringing the number of cases from the ship to 355, the most anywhere outside China.