Canadian passengers stranded onboard a Holland America cruise ship in Florida because of an outbreak of COVID-19 will be brought back to Canada on a government-chartered flight, according to the prime minister.

Justin Trudeau made the comments Thursday in his daily update on the novel coronavirus from Rideau Cottage in Ottawa.

He said the exact details are still being worked out, but that a plane will be sent to retrieve them.

Since March 22, 97 guests and 136 crew members on the MS Zaandam have reported influenza-like symptoms. All guests have been self-isolating in their staterooms since that time.

Four “older” passengers have died on the ship, according to the cruise company.

The ship set sail from Buenos Aires on March 7 and was scheduled to finish in San Antonio, Chile, on March 21. Last week, it became stranded off the coast of Panama for several days after Chile and other ports along its path denied it permission to dock.

A second Holland America cruise ship, the MS Rotterdam, will also dock in Florida on Thursday. A number of healthy passengers were evacuated from the Zaandam by tender and boarded the Rotterdam.

Of those, Global Affairs Canada says it’s aware of 248 Canadians on board the ships — all passengers, except one crew member. Of those, 150 passengers were moved to the Rotterdam.

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The agency says no Canadians are among the four people who have succumbed to illness on board.

“We continue to engage with the passengers and Holland America to coordinate travel for Canadian citizens back to Canada upon disembarkation,” Global Affairs Canada said in an emailed statement Wednesday.

When the Canadians return, they will be subject to the 14-day self-isolation like everyone else, Trudeau said.

“Anyone who returns from overseas needs to be quarantined for 14 days, needs to be isolated so they do not spread COVID-19 in the population,” he told reporters.

“We’ve received many, many Canadians who have returned home over the past couple of weeks. There are still more to come, but far less than before.”

Global News reached out to Global Affairs Canada on Thursday morning for an updated statement on the situation but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Holland America reached an agreement with authorities in Florida to dock Thursday in Fort Lauderdale.

In a statement, the cruise line said fewer than 10 people “need immediate critical care” and about 45 guests have mild illness and are unfit to travel. They will continue to isolate on the ship until they’ve recovered, as per guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The ships are due to dock sometime Thursday afternoon.

—With files from The Associated Press

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