Weyburn couple home after being on cruise ship with concerns of coronavirus
A Weyburn couple is home and laying low after being stuck on a cruise ship due to concerns about the coronavirus.
Tom Schuck and his wife Marilyn began their cruise on the Westerdam ship around January 15. While the cruise originally planned to stop at a variety of locations up and down the coast, before long there were not allowed to dock at all.
Holland America Line, the ship's operator, said in a statement Monday that Cambodian health officials were testing guests and crew on the ship and that people staying at a hotel were tested for the coronavirus. About 271 Canadians were on the ship.
Schuck said they were aware of the virus but not very concerned about becoming infected.
"We had a really good time," he said. "On the ship that we were on, there wasn't anybody who got the virus until they disembarked."
The Schucks were tested for the virus at different points in their trip, he said.
They had their temperatures taken around Feb. 1 and then on Feb. 14. When their temperatures were normal, they were allowed to disembark in Cambodia after the country opened its port to the ship.
An American woman who had been on the Westerdam cruise ship tested positive for the virus on the weekend after disembarking.
Schuck said they were informed the couple was at the same hotel as the woman who tested positive. As a result, five couples were taken to a new hotel and swabbed for the virus, he said. When all was well, the couple was allowed to fly home.
Canadian health officials were previously asking passengers who were on the Westerdam and who are returning to Canada to isolate themselves for 14 days after they return, and to report to local public health authorities within 24 hours to be monitored for symptoms.
In a statement Sunday, Tammy Jarbeau, a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada said Westerdam passengers will undergo further examination and screening.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health said it will not comment about specific cases but all persons aboard the Westerdam cruise ship are being managed as contacts. The ministry said it will follow up on the passengers and is asking anyone who has been in contact with someone who has tested positive to self-isolate for 14 days.
The Ministry said the risk of COVID-19 to Canadians remains low.
When the Schucks arrived in Toronto, they were greeted by a Canadian Government medical health official.
"He said there's no quarantine," Schuck said. "We were free to go."
I know that there's a bit of a panic because it's a new disease — but overall the trip was fun. - Tom Schuck
The Toronto official said the Saskatchewan Health Authority may be in touch with the couple. CBC has contacted the Saskatchewan Health Authority for comment.
"We're just laying low for a few weeks," Schuck said. "But if we show signs, if we have a fever, we should phone the hospital ahead of time and tell them that it's a possibility."
"They said our friends might call but they may not want to visit us," Schuck said.
Holland America dealt with the couple nicely, he said, and the couple was told the second half of the cruise would be refunded and they would get a credit for a cruise in the future.
"I know that there's a bit of a panic because it's a new disease — but overall the trip was fun."
The coronavirus — or COVID 19 illness — has more than 15,000 confirmed cases and the death toll has reached more than 1500 people, mostly in mainland China.
