Taiwan authorities confirmed Friday that a cruise ship off Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, that was not allowed to dock in Japan due to coronavirus concerns will be allowed to return to Keelung, near Taipei, according to local media.
The approval came a day after Taiwan's ban on cruise ships took effect amid the mass outbreak on the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama.
Speaking to reporters at the Central Epidemic Center on Friday morning, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung implied that an exception was made for the vessel because about 90 percent of its guests are from Taiwan.