Fredericton couple quarantined on cruise ship in Japan due to coronavirus

A Fredericton couple has been stuck aboard a cruise ship in Japan for a week because of the coronavirus.

David and Patricia Strang are on the Diamond Princess, which is docked in Yokohama.

"As long as your temperature stays down you're feeling good about things," David Strang said in an interview Saturday on Skype.

"It's just a time thing. If you get sick, you're going to get sick, and if you don't, well, we just got to wait it out and see how it goes."

Strang said he and his wife feel good so far. They've been checking their temperature a few times a day and are supposed to report if their temperature rises. 

When the ship arrived at Yokohama on Feb. 3, Japan officials put the ship into quarantine because someone on the boat tested positive for the coronavirus.

The captain has been giving passengers an update everyday on the situation. Strang said that they've been told over 60 people have been taken to hospital since the ship docked.

"We would go to dinner at night in the dining room and sit with two other couples, but during the day we would eat with any couples," said Strang. 

"You don't know how many of those people had it or caught the virus."

Strang is doing his best to look at the positives and make the best of the situation.

"People are sort of grinning and bearing it," he said. "There's not much else you can do really."

He has been happy with what the cruise line has done to keep people entertained. He said they've been given origami paper, playing cards, more movies and television channels and unlimited internet. 

"It's like anything else, you fall into a routine," said Strang.

They're confined to their cabins most of the day, but they do get an hour for exercise and fresh air on deck. They aren't allowed on the starboard side, where the media crews are. 

But the two still get to do lots of people watching as they have a balcony facing the dock.

"When we're in the harbour tied up, there's lots to watch. We can see ambulances coming and going to the ship all day long," said Strang. 

"On shore, there must have been a 100 news people on the dock, with four or five satellite television trucks."

The couple had planned to fly to Singapore and then take another cruise to New York, but those plans are on hold until they find out when they will be let off. 

The quarantine is set to end on Feb 19, which is David's 73rd birthday.

Despite the quarantine, Strang said as soon as they are allowed off the Diamond Princess the couple plans to take another cruise. They have been on around 70.

"I think we're natural cruisers. We like the lifestyle, I guess," said Strang.