Photo: The Canadian Press

Government will evacuate Canadians from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship.

The federal government says it will evacuate Canadians quarantined aboard a cruise ship docked in Japan.

They've been stuck on the Diamond Princess cruise ship for 10 days amid an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which has so far infected 15 Canadians on board.

A statement released Saturday night says the government has chartered a plane to bring the Canadians to southern Ontario, where they'll be quarantined for another 14 days.

Global Affairs says the passengers will be screened before boarding the plane, and those who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 will be transferred to the Japanese health-care system.

It says the "extraordinary circumstances" facing Canadians aboard the ship have driven it to evacuate.

Experts have questioned if the close quarters have contributed to the spread.