Canadians evacuated from the novel coronavirus outbreak epicentre of Wuhan, China are back in Canada, where they will spend the next 14 days in quarantine.

A flight chartered by the federal government carrying 176 passengers arrived in Vancouver around 9 p.m. local time Thursday for a refuelling stop, before continuing on to CFB Trenton.

An American flight bound for Vancouver left a few hours later, and the approximately 50 Canadians on that plane will be transferred to a flight heading to the Ontario military base.

The federal government has also chartered another flight scheduled to leave Wuhan on February 10 to give remaining Canadians a third chance to get home.

Passengers on quarantined cruise ship test positive

Another 41 people aboard a cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, including five Canadians.

Princess Cruises says the new cases are in addition to the approximately 20 positive results identified earlier on the Diamond Princess, a number that included two other Canadians.

The cruise line says the quarantine period will end on February 19, barring any unforeseen issues.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the Canadian mission in Tokyo has been in touch with the Canadian passengers to offer them consular assistance, and the government will look to the cruise line to repatriate them after the quarantine