'It's really good to be home': Ontario couple return after weeks under quarantine on cruise ship

Rose Yerex is relieved to be home in Port Dover, Ont., after being quarantined for weeks on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan that was struck by the COVID-19 outbreak.

"It's really good to be home," she told Cross Country Checkup host Duncan McCue.

Yerex and her husband Greg were among the 700 people who contracted the novel coronavirus aboard the ship.

She remembers being confined to their cabin, only seeing other humans when the crew delivered meals.

"The staff were wearing masks. So they would knock on the door. We would all be wearing masks. We'd open the door, they'd hand us our meals, and we'd shut the door," she recalled.

She was grateful for her outside cabin that had windows and a balcony, allowing the couple to get a little bit of sunshine and fresh air.

"Never take an inside cabin.… When you're in an inside cabin, it's like being in a cave. There's no windows. Nothing."

Steven Taylor, a clinical psychologist and professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, said that people in quarantine situations may feel greater mental distress than any physical symptoms.

"Many people recovered from SARS, but had developed psychological problems which persisted after they've recovered from SARS," he said.

"So I would hope that people who'd been on the quarantine cruise ships can get some psychological follow up just to make sure that they're doing okay."

'It's fear of the unknown'

After testing positive for the virus, the Yerexes and others like them were transferred to a Japanese military facility off the ship. She described the fear and uncertainty that went with the detour.

"You're scared because you know, you don't know what to expect. It's a country where you don't speak the language. Most people don't speak English. It's fear of the unknown," she said.

Compounding the uncertainty was the fact that Yerex initially tested negative for COVID-19, while her husband tested positive. Later tests turned up positive for both of them.

"So then you face the fear now of: if I'm negative, I have to go on the Canadian evacuation flights and end up in Cornwall. And my husband would end up staying alone in Japan. That's probably the worst fear we had was being split up," she said. 

Neither Yerex nor her husband suffered any symptoms of the virus, and were released after they tested negative at the end of February.

Cruise control

The Diamond Princess wasn't the only cruise ship struck by COVID-19 in recent weeks. Nineteen crew members and two passengers tested positive on the Grand Princess, currently quarantined off the coast of California.

Canada secured a plane late Sunday to repatriate Canadians on board that ship, which will transport them to Canadian Forces Base Trenton.

Dr. Samira Mubareka, a virologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, advised people to avoid booking a cruise for the foreseeable future — "particularly the elderly, individuals who are immuno-compromised, potentially smokers," she said.

Frederic Dimanche, director of the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Ryerson University, noted that many cruise ships are starting to ramp up protocols to keep their ships clean and safe as anxieties over catching the virus while at sea continue.

"It's really causing an issue for cruise ships because they're so big. You have 5,000 people on the ship. You have about 2,000 crew and 2,500 or 3,000 customers. That's a lot of people to be together," he said.

Despite the ordeal, Yerex hasn't ruled out going on another cruise — just not any time soon. One stint of quarantine was clearly enough for both her and her husband.

"It's a real test of a relationship, lemme tell you," she said.

Written by Jonathan Ore. Interviews produced by Richard Raycraft and Samantha Lui.