Couple worry over positive disease result

Coronavirus: UK pair plea for flight

A British couple on board a coronavirus-hit cruise ship are worried they have tested positive for the virus.

David and Sally Abel have posted regular updates on Facebook and YouTube pleading with the UK Government to be flown home from the Diamond Princess, which is quarantined near Yokohama, Japan.

As late as Monday afternoon, Mr Abel said the couple, from Oxfordshire, were well and had passed all medical checks run by the ship, which has 74 Britons on board.

But yesterday morning UK time, Mr Abel posted on Facebook: “There is going to be a time of quiet. We have been proved positive and leaving for hospital soon. Blessings all xxx.”

In a follow-up post, he said: “Frankly I think this is a setup! We are NOT being taken to a hospital but a hostel. That’s where partners are sent waiting out there (sic) quarantine.

“No phone, no wi-fi and no medical facilities. I really am smelling a very big rat here! Waiting for the transfer now. xx”

People with coronavirus – also known as Covid-19 – are being taken off the ship for treatment at hospitals in Japan.

The couple’s son, Steve Abel, said they are “high- spirited people”.

But he added: “There are cracks in the armour and they are getting down.”

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he said: “My mum breaks down in tears frequently, my dad is shorttempered.

“They are not getting any communication from our country, so they are in the dark and feeling very unloved.”

Mr Abel said the conditions on the quarantined cruise ship were making it difficult for his father to manage his diabetes and that he is also suffering from a tooth infection.

When asked about the government’s treatment of his parents, Mr Abel described it as “appalling”.