The evacuation began Wednesday of a cruise ship quarantined after an outbreak of new coronavirus COVID-19, with several hundred passengers who had tested negative being allowed to leave the ship.

About 500 individuals, most of them elderly, disembarked from the Diamond Princess on Wednesday. Many of them took chartered buses provided by the city to Yokohama Station, while others hailed taxis or were collected by family members. Those that chose to leave by foot were quickly surrounded by members of the press.

"I'm relieved to finally get off the ship," an elderly man in his 70s told reporters. "I want to go home and rest."