‘WE’LL JUST WAIT IT OUT’

Couple thankful for support after Cairns man treated as virus case

A CAIRNS man in hospital in Japan after testing positive for the coronavirus is doing well and waiting for further checks.

Paul Fidrmuc was taken off the Diamond Princess in Yokohama after becoming a confirmed case last week. His wife Jacqui (right) is still in the couple’s cabin waiting for her quarantine period to end.

“I think Paul should be OK and he’s been calm about it all,” Mrs Fidrmuc said yesterday.

A CAIRNS man who tested positive to coronavirus last week is “calmly” awaiting the results of a second test after he was removed from a cruise ship and quarantined in a Japanese hospital.

Paul and Jacqui Fidrmuc were on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship which docked at the Port of Yokohama, Japan earlier this month with about 3700 international passengers.

All passengers were locked down for a 14-day quarantine period, which started February 5, after 10 passengers initially tested positive.

With the end of the initial quarantine period in sight, Mr Fidrmuc received the devastating news that he’d tested positive for coronavirus on

Tuesday via email from the Australian Embassy.

The following day, he disembarked the ship and was sent to a hospital, where he is being monitored in isolation.

Meanwhile, the clock was reset for his wife, Mrs Fidrmuc, who will serve another nine days in quarantine on board the ship.

“I think Paul should be OK and he’s been calm about it all,” Mrs Fidrmuc told the Cairns Post.

“They’ve been doing swab tests on everyone and initially Paul had some flu-like symptoms and a high temperature. But he’s been OK since they’ve taken him to hospital.

“They did some scans and X-rays on his chest which all came back clear.”

She said her husband had undergone a secondary test for the virus while in hospital and was expecting those results “in the next couple of days”.

“If that test comes back negative, they’ll wait 12 hours, test him again and if it’s negative again, he’ll be discharged.”

“For me, I think I should be out by (February 25).”

Mrs Fidrmuc said she was yet to be notified when the Australian Government might launch a mission to evacuate the passengers.

“We’ll just have to wait and see. If either one of us can go, it would be lovely to get back home to the kids.”

Mrs Fidrmuc said it was “heartbreaking” to hear the news, but was overwhelmed with the support she’d received from friends and family.

“Those messages are truly helping me pass time here.”