Virus couple welcome treatment as fellow Britons fly home
A BRITISH couple diagnosed with coronavirus in Japan have said they are “in the best place” as dozens of other Britons prepare to fly back to the UK.
David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, are being treated in a Japanese hospital after being taken from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been quarantined near Yokohama, Japan.
The ship has seen more than 620 cases of coronavirus, including at least four Britons, and is the largest cluster of cases outside China.
Around 70 other Britons from the ship, who have tested negative, are due to fly back to the UK from Tokyo today.
They will land at the Boscombe Down Ministry of Defence base near Salisbury, Wiltshire, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
In a Facebook post, Mr Abel said: “We arrived in lovely hospital a couple of hours ago.
“Taken by ambulance blues & twos the entire journey.
“Outside the hospital I came over a bit weird and nearly passed out. Every pore on my body opened and I was wheelchaired to our room.
“Full health inspection and now we know what’s going on. We both contracted a cold (unaware of) and it has not yet turned into pneumonia. (we do have coronavirus).
“Tomorrow the big tests commence. chest x-rays, ECG, chest scan, urine + more.
“We are both in the best place! They do know what they are doing and our two nurses are gorgeous. Sally likes the Dr too.”
Mr Abel said that following treatment, the couple will need three rounds of all-clears on coronavirus tests.
He added: “Wi-fi will not work for me, so this will be the final communication for some time.
“See you all before you know it.”
In further posts, Mr Abel said his wife Sally had a bed in the same room as him and that they were “thinking of all the Brits flying to UK.”
Meanwhile, the European Commission has announced the EU will be financing the repatriation of citizens from any of the EU27 still stuck on the Diamond Princess.
As of 2pm on Wednesday, a total of 5,216 people in the UK have been tested for coronavirus, of whom nine have tested positive.
There have been more than 74,000 confirmed infections recorded in mainland China and about 700 cases in other countries.