Coronavirus: 'You wonder if they are coming to take you'

A couple said their main worry during a month in coronavirus quarantine was being separated from each other.

Alan and Vanessa Sandford, from Nottinghamshire, were kept aboard a cruise liner in Japan for 16 days in February, then spent another 14 days in quarantine in the UK.

Being swabbed for the disease left them anxious one might test positive and be taken to hospital, they said.

But tests came back clear and they are now readjusting to life back home.

After what they described as a "really good cruise", Mr and Mrs Sandford were told the night before disembarkation they had to stay on board the Diamond Princess.

All 3,700 passengers were kept on the ship in an attempt to contain a coronavirus outbreak after a passenger tested positive on 3 February.

Initially those affected seemed to have only mild symptoms but the mood soon changed.

Mr Sandford said: "A Japanese woman in the next room was coughing, and it was a bit of a wake up when early one morning the people came to take her.

"We watched the ambulances come and go, all day and every day, that was worrying.

"When you heard a knock at the door, you would be wondering about opening the door to people in complete protective clothing.

"You wonder if they are coming to take you."

They said they felt particularly anxious when swabs were taken, as "what if one of us is positive and the other is not - would be be split up?".

They occupied their time using the internet and reading but Mr Sandford joked he asked so many questions he "thought I might get pushed overbroad".

More than 620 people on the ship caught the virus and two Japanese passengers - both in their 80s and with underlying health conditions - died.

On getting home they had a "wonderful" haircut but needed time to adjust.

"Some parts of being back were really good but others were really strange," Mr Sandford said.

"Walking into Morrisons the other day we found we were looking at people's faces and staring.

"Then we realised it was the first time in 31 days we had seen anyone's face without a mask."

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