» Atlanta couple infected on cruise ship are better, coming home,

Pair hospitalized for three weeks despite lack of symptoms.

An Atlanta couple sickened by coronavirus last month while vacationing on a cruise ship in Japan are fully recovered and on their way back to Atlanta.

Renee and Clyde Smith, both 80, never experienced symptoms but were hospitalized for more than three weeks after testing positive for the virus, according to their son, David Smith, an attorney who lives in Macon.

They got the all-clear after two tests for each of them came back negative, according to Smith.

“It’s awesome,” the son said. “We are so relieved. And it’s a reminder we should never panic.”

The Smiths’ adventure on a Diamond Princess cruise ship started out well with an excursion to Ha Long Bay in northeast Vietnam, known for its emerald waters. They renewed their marriage vows on the ship.

But their trip took a turn for the worse as the new coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 illness, swept through the cruise liner, forcing a mandatory quarantine. In the end, several hundred people on the ship contracted COVID-19, including 46 Americans. More than 100 Americans were also evacuated and placed into quarantine on Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

The Smiths will be coming back to a state where there are two confirmed cases of COVID-19. About 15 people in Georgia had been tested for coronavirus as of Tuesday, public health officials said. State officials have said the risk to Georgians remains low.

So far, there are more than 100 confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in the United States, including people in Washington, California, Florida and New York. Many of the diagnoses have come in the last week.

The Smiths’ two grandsons, who accompanied them on the cruise, were among those evacuated to Texas.

David Smith said both of his nephews tested negative for COVID-19, completed the quarantine and recently returned to Atlanta.

He also said his parents grew close to the nurses at the hospital in Tokyo and always speak glowingly of the care they received.

The couple passed the time reading. Their meals included soups, vegetables and white rice.

“My parents never lost their optimism,” Smith said.

When they first arrived at the hospital, the couple were in side-by-side rooms. But a nurse moved Clyde into his wife’s room so they could be together.

CONTRIBUTED Renee and Clyde Smith, both 80, have recovered and are heading home. When they first arrived at a Tokyo hospital, the couple were in side-by-side rooms. But a nurse moved Clyde into his wife’s room so they could be together.