Venezuela claimed, without evidence, that the luxury cruise ship might have been 'transporting mercenaries' for an attack.

Trump told reporters Wednesday that both the Canadian and British governments are "coming to take the people that are on the ship back to their homeland" once the MS Zaandam docks in Florida Thursday.

A ship carrying passengers sick with COVID-19 is expected to arrive in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday.

Cruise ships have been a major part of the COVID-19 story since the novel coronavirus began spreading in January, with multiple ships under quarantine or refused docking privileges after passengers tested positive for the disease.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said 228 Canadians were repatriated from the Grand Princess.

There are 21 people diagnosed with COVID-19 aboard the Grand Princess, which is carrying more than 3,500 people from 54 countries.

A release from Nova Scotia's department of health said anyone who has travelled outside of Canada may have come in contact with COVID-19 and should closely monitor their health.

Global Affairs Canada announced late yesterday that it had chartered a plane to fly the stranded Canadians to the air force base in Trenton, though it did not provide a timeline for when that would happen.

The two crew members on the Regal Princess had transferred from separate cruise ship that was held off the coast of California after multiple cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on board.

The Grand Princess had been forbidden to dock in San Francisco amid evidence that the vessel was the breeding ground for a cluster of nearly 20 cases that resulted in at least one death after a previous voyage.