Updated March 29, 2020 23:48:30

Photo: 41 people on the Artania cruise ship have fallen ill with COVID-19. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor)

The WA Government has confirmed 29 people on board the Artania cruise ship docked in Fremantle have tested positive to COVID-19.

That brings the total number of passengers and crew on board the German ship who have contracted the virus to 41.

The sick passengers are expected to be taken to two private hospitals in Perth for treatment, under a deal struck with the Federal Government.

Meanwhile, dozens of healthy passengers have been removed from the ship and taken to Perth Airport on six Transperth buses to begin their journeys home.

Photo: A fleet of Transperth buses have taken healthy passengers off the Artania to Perth Airport. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor)

Four charter flights have begun arriving in the city to fly the passengers back to Frankfurt in Germany.

More than 800 passengers and 500 crew were on board the ship, which docked in Perth last week.

WA Premier Mark McGowan said the passengers and crew were the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government.

"Managing cruise ships has been extremely difficult, in fact its been a nightmare," he said.

"It's a diabolical situation dealing with these cruise ships."

A further 30 people in the state have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

Topics: epidemics-and-pandemics, health, government-and-politics, sea-transport, covid-19, infectious-diseases-other, respiratory-diseases, diseases-and-disorders, perth-6000, wa

First posted March 29, 2020 22:37:17