Hans and Lolita Wiesner, who are residents of Joffre, Alta, are seen here wearing protective masks in order to defend against contracting the coronavirus.

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

a blip in the road

End of coronavirus quarantine in sight for Joffre couple

Feb 23, 2020 | 8:50 PM

A Red Deer area couple will soon be free and clear to return home after more than two uncertain weeks quarantined onboard a Japanese cruise ship due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Lolita and Hans Wiesner of Joffre remain in quarantine at the NAV Centre in Cornwall, Ontario after the ship they were on, the Diamond Princess, became one of the world’s foremost focal points for the novel coronavirus.

Three passengers who were on the ship have died from it.

March 6 will be the final day of the Wiesners 14-day quarantine on Canadian soil, meaning they’ll be allowed to travel again, be it to home or elsewhere.

“It’s just a hiccup. We’re retired and on no fixed schedule, so these additional 30 days quarantined — 16 on the ship, 14 in Cornwall — are really just a small inconvenience to what was going to be a four-month holiday,” Lolita tells rdnewsNOW. “We are amongst the lucky ones who haven’t become sick, and as long as that continues, everything else is just a blip in the road.”

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While still aboard the ship, which has been docked in Yokohama, the Wiesners had it pretty good, Lolita jokes, “as far as quarantines go.”

Meals were delivered to their cabin door three times a day, and wine was on the menu, though they only indulged three times. As for exiting their cabin, they had an hour each day, and had to be masked.

Hans and Lolita Wiesner, pictured here in their cabin on the Diamond Princess cruise ship where they were in quarantine earlier this month. (Supplied)

“We had to keep two metres between us and a stranger when talking. Most of us didn’t engage with others unless we knew them from before, and instead focused on walking and exercising,” she says. “The crew were friendly and cheerful, and the captain made constant announcements.”

By the end of their stay on the ship, Lolita says 1600 movies had been made available to watch, and news was available through free internet access.

The couple has no plans to return to their trip which would’ve had them in Lisbon, Portugal by this point.

The couple currently has no health issues.

The latest they’ve heard is that the company which runs the Diamond Princess will be reimbursing them for the cost of the cruise, all expenses while onboard, and they’ll receive a credit for future use. The company has also indicated they may reimburse for flights missed during the quarantine.

Lolita says it’s still somewhat uncertain if the Canadian government will cover at least their first flight out of Cornwall, but the current housing at the NAV Centre is all believed to be covered.

“The nurses here check us twice daily, taking our temperatures and asking health-related questions. They are fully masked and wear some kind of clear plastic face shield over their masks,” she shares. “They wear disposable white coveralls, sort of like an apron with sleeves, and we aren’t allowed to take any photos.”

The Wiesners were two of 129 Canadians who landed in Canada on Friday (Feb. 21) to spend two more weeks in quarantine in order to be monitored for COVID-19 (coronavirus).

According to The Canadian Press, health officials in Canada decided to re-quarantine passengers from the Diamond Princess because new cases were still cropping up on the ship at the end of the first incubation period.

It was announced Sunday night that six Canadian Armed Forces medical staff and one Government of Canada employee who recently accompanied returning travellers to CFB Trenton in Cornwall are safe to be released.

There have been more than 2400 deaths from the illness worldwide, and approximately 80,000 cases.