Diabetic tells of coma fears after passengers are confined to cabins in cruise ship coronavirus quarantine

Trapped: David Abel is on board
Ross Lydall @RossLydall5 February 2020

A British man today told how he and his wife have been quarantined on board a cruise ship for a fortnight off the coast of Japan after 10 passengers tested positive for coronavirus.

David and Sally Abel, from Oxfordshire, are among almost 3,000 passengers told to remain in their cabins after the outbreak on the Diamond Princess.

Mr Abel, a diabetic, said he feared going into a coma if he was not given anything to eat. However, appropriate food was brought to the cabin after social media users shared his request.

The restrictions were imposed after an 80-year-old passenger who left the ship in Hong Kong on January 25 tested positive for the virus.

Coronavirus: Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined

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Speaking on a video posted on Facebook, Mr Abel said: “We are in quarantine on board the ship. The 10 people affected are being taken to a medical facility. We are confined to our cabins.”

Medics boarded the ship, moored in Yokohama Bay, on Monday to check passengers’ temperature and for symptoms of the virus.

The couple, who were travelling ahead of their 50th wedding anniversary, were left without food for 18 hours, from Monday night to yesterday morning.

Mr Abel claims he was told by a member of staff on board that the food service had been temporarily suspended over fears that, that was where the virus had originated.

He said: “Nothing changed except for food. It now is a sandwich for every meal. We are no longer on a luxury cruise, that’s for sure.”

Mr Abel added: “The positive thing in this is our room is facing the sun. We are allowed on our balconies so I think most of my day will be spent being lazy.

“It could be worse, we could be taken off and put into a local hospital. Naturally, we want to be home. We are missing our Yorkie dogs. But two weeks, it’ll go quite quickly, I hope.”

None of the 10 infected people, three of whom are Japanese nationals, had severe symptoms, it was reported.

Princess Cruises said the ship would be resupplied with food. “The ship plans to perform normal operations including the production of fresh water and ballast operations before proceeding in Yokohama where food, provisions and other supplies will be brought on board,” a statement said.

Professor Paul Hunter, of the University of East Anglia, said: “Outbreaks of respiratory-transmitted infections, especially Norovirus and influenza, occur quite often on cruise ships.

“Cruise passengers are often older-than-average and spend a lot of time indoors with other people who may have come from all over the world.

“If a passenger has [coronavirus] then it is likely to spread more rapidly than on land and, given the relatively high age of many passengers, the probability of more severe disease is high in those affected.”

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