'I'm really scared': Almonte couple aboard quarantined ship just wants to get home
Kimberley Molina | CBC News | Posted: March 9, 2020 8:42 PM | Last Updated: March 10, 2020
Carol and Lynn Ciavaglia among 237 Canadians aboard Grand Princess, docked at Oakland, Calif.
An Almonte, Ont., couple aboard a quarantined cruise ship now at port in California say all they want is to get home to Canada — even if it means further quarantine.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced Monday it's now recommending Canadians don't go on cruises because of COVID-19.
But the warning comes too late for Carol Ciavaglia, 68, and her husband, Lynn, 73. They're two of 237 Canadians aboard the Grand Princess, which docked late Monday morning at Oakland, Calif., after being held off the coast for days.
Nineteen crew members and two passengers aboard the ship have so far tested positive for the respiratory illness. Passengers still don't know when they'll be allowed to disembark.
"I'm frustrated. But more than that, I'm scared. I'm really scared," Carol Ciavaglia said. "I don't know what's going to happen to us."
The two-week cruise, which was supposed to be a birthday celebration for Carol, sailed from San Francisco on Feb. 21 to Hawaii, returning to the California coast on Saturday. Passengers were confined to their rooms last week.
Ciavaglia said staff wearing masks and rubber gloves drop off three meals a day outside their cabin door, and the captain has been giving passengers daily updates.
Ciavaglia said they feel fine, but they're worried about what could happen if one of them falls ill.
"Nobody wants to be separated from their spouse, and one spouse sent home and the other quarantined somewhere off the coast of California," she said. "I'll be thrilled as soon as they start disembarking."
Global Affairs sending plane
On Sunday, Global Affairs Canada sent Canadians aboard the ship an email saying it's working with U.S. authorities, the cruise line and federal partners to co-ordinate disembarkation, and to repatriate passengers to Canada where they will undergo a 14-day quarantine at CFB Trenton.
"We strongly urge you to return to Canada on this evacuation flight," the email reads.
But when that flight will leave is still up in the air, and Ciavaglia wants details.
"Telling us they're sending a plane isn't the same as telling us, 'We're here,'" she said.
An eastern Ontario MP's parents are also tangled up in the quarantine. John and Assunta Gerretsen, the parents of Kingston and The Islands MP Mark Gerretsen, are also aboard the ship.
Their son told CBC Radio's Ontario Today they don't appear to be showing symptoms of the illness, and are anxious to get off the ship and back home.
"They're in good spirits," Gerretsen said. "We're extremely grateful."