David and Sally Abel quarantined onboard the cruise ship since February 3, have been diagnosed with coronavirus. They have been evacuated and need to be hospitalized.
Stuck aboard the Diamond Princess , David and Sally Abel kept a video diary on their YouTube channel in which they recounted life in quarantine, since February 3, under the threat of coronavirus.
With very English humor, courage and optimism with any test, they reported the difficulty of being confined in a cabin of the boat. Despite the weariness, boredom, and anxiety, they held out.
“Hello, as you can see, we are alive and we are fine,” said David, 74, again on the morning of Tuesday, February 18. But a few hours later, everything changed for the couple: like 88 new passengers, they were diagnosed with coronavirus.
A sinister count which brings to 542 the number of cases noted among the 3,600 passengers of the ship immobilized near Yokohama, in the suburbs of Tokyo. Outside China, the ocean liner has, for the moment, being the main source of contamination.
There will be a moment of silence. We have been diagnosed positive and are leaving for the hospital soon, ”said David in a Facebook message.
For two weeks, like the other passengers, David and Sally had to stay in their cabin. They received their meals there, brought by crew members wearing masks and protective clothing.
A protection system that did not prevent the coronavirus from spreading in the boat. In theory, the quarantine period ends on Wednesday. Those who display a negative test and have not had close contact with an infected person will be allowed to alight from the cruise ship.
Without waiting for the decision of the Japanese authorities, who are coming under increasing criticism for this crisis management, the United States has already repatriated their nationals by plane to place them in quarantine in their country.
Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Italy have decided to do the same, as well as the United Kingdom, much criticized by the British press for its lack of responsiveness to this situation.
In addition, apart from those infected in the ship, 74 other cases were recorded on Japanese territory, including a teenager in Wakayama, said a local official.
For the moment, only one death has been recorded in Japan, that of an 80-year-old woman in Kanagawa prefecture, bordering Tokyo.
