US cruise passenger is separated from his wife who is forced to leave the ship in Japan when she tests positive for coronavirus – hours before they were due to fly home to America
- Jeannie Hopland, of Elizabethton, Tennessee, has tested positive for the virus
- She was taken to a Tokyo hospital just hours before they were due to fly home
- Her husband Dr Arnold Hopland wasn’t allowed to go with her and is still on ship
An American passenger on the coronavirus cruise ship in Japan has been separated from her husband after testing positive for the deadly infection just hours before they were due to fly home.
Jeannie Hopland, of Elizabethton, Tennessee, was removed from the Diamond Princess yesterday and taken to a Tokyo hospital but her husband Arnold, a doctor, was not allowed to go with her.
The couple, who have four children and 15 grandchildren, had been set to fly back to the US with around 400 other Americans but Dr Hopland says they might not be able to go home until the end of next month.
Dr Kevin Hopland with his wife Jeannie in their cabin on the Diamond Princess cruise ship
The cruise ship was carrying more than 3,700 passengers and crew from more than 50 countries and territories when it docked in Yokohama Bay on February 5
Dr Arnold Hopland was not allowed to accompany his wife to hospital after she tested positive for coronavirus
Mrs Hopland said: ‘I feel fine,’but I certainly don’t want to get anyone sick so I’m glad I didn’t get around others.
‘It’s the fear of the unknown, you know. But the Lord has hold of me, so I don’t have to be afraid.’
The couple believe Mrs Hopland contracted the disease from the ship steward who was bringing them their food before he tested positive a few days ago.
Dr Hopland’s coronavirus results came back negative but he was not allowed to leave the ship to accompany his wife and doesn’t know for how long they will be apart.
‘We have no idea what’s next,’ Dr. Hopland said. ‘But all indications are that if we’re not on the planes leaving Japan, we won’t be allowed back in the United States until late March.’
He added: ‘Her biggest worry was having to leave me,’ he told WJHL.
The couple received the positive test result as they were getting ready for the bus ride to the airport Sunday morning.
The ship was carrying more than 3,700 passengers and crew from more than 50 countries and territories when it docked in Yokohama Bay on February 5.
The number of confirmed cases and deaths continues to rise around the world
An ambulance believed to be carring an infected passenger of the Diamond Princess cruise ship leaves the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama on Sunday
Passengers wave on the cruise ship Diamond Princess, as the vessel’s passengers continue to be tested for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama
It was placed in isolation after authorities found a passenger who got off in Hong Kong during the voyage had tested positive for the virus.
Japanese officials continued to find new infections among the passengers and crew and rushed them to local hospitals, while others have been told to stay inside their cabins during the 14-day quarantine period set to end Wednesday.
Dr Hopland blames a mismanaged quarantine on many of the ship’s 356 coronavirus cases.
‘Had we been removed days ago, Jeannie and many others likely would be much better off,’ he said.
The couple’s son, Dr Kenny Hopland, told WJHL he believes his parents were exposed to the coronavirus by an infected ship worker who brought them food.
‘A few days ago, the steward who had been bringing them food to their cabins tested positive for this virus,’ he said.
‘There’s no question that they got exposed to the virus because they were forced to stay on the ship.’
The number of worldwide cases of coronavirus has soared past 70,000 while the number of deaths is over 1,700.