A California woman evacuated from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan claims her husband has tested positive for coronavirus since returning to the US.
Jeri Seratti-Goldman and her husband, Carl Goldman, of Santa Clarita, were transferred to Nebraska with other ‘high-risk’ passengers after he reportedly developed a high fever while on an evacuation flight to the States.
Carl underwent a swab test after arrival and was diagnosed with coronavirus, Jeri claims.
Earlier this week, health officials reported that a passenger had been transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, one of just three such facilities in the nation, deemed qualified to handle patients of the Ebola outbreak.
Little was revealed about the patient in the biocontainment unit, except that he or she had developed fever and lightheadedness, and has an underlying condition
Jeri says that the patient in a ‘special care unit’ is her husband, who was placed there because he was unable to walk when the plane landed and suffers from a rare autoimmune disorder.
Jeri Seratti-Goldman says her husband, Carl Goldman, has tested positive for coronavirus and has been placed in a special biocontainment unit in Nebraska. Pictured: Carl arrives in Nebraska and is placed on a stretcher to be taken to Nebraska Medicine
The couple was vacationing on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was placed under quarantine on February 5. Pictured: Carl (far left) and Jeri (far right) with their friends during one of the cruise’s stops
The Goldmans were on the cruise through Southeast Asia with friends of theirs – another couple – and the trip was meant to be both a 60th birthday present and a Christmas gift for Jeri.
But the dream vacation turned into a nightmare when the captain announced that a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong came down with the coronavirus four days after leaving.
The ship sailed to a port in Yokohama, Japan, on February 5 where it dropped anchor and the passengers were all placed under quarantine for 14 days.
Carl and Jeri, owners of KHTS radio station, shared their ordeal on a blog on the station’s website and in a series of Facebook Live videos.
The two were trapped in their hotel room for 12 days and were not allowed to even enter the hallway, which drove them crazy.
‘I think the reason I haven’t killed my husband yet is because our friends are here,’ Jeri said jokingly during one video.
She says she and her husband were both tested on the cruise ship before being evacuated but never heard back about their results.
‘[We assumed] no news was good news,’ Jeri said in another Facebook video.
Twelve days in, the couple learned they would be on one of two flights back to the US for an additional 14-day quarantine.
Then, on the flight to Travis Air Force Base in California, Jeri says her husband developed a fever.
He was placed into the isolated section of the plane along with the 14 other Americans that had been diagnosed with the illness.
‘Mid-flight, Carl got a fever, a very high fever, and they isolated him immediately,’ she told KETV.
Because of this, the couple was deemed ‘high-risk’ and they, along with 11 others from the other two evacuation flights, were flown to Eppley Airfield in Nebraska.
The couple, from Santa Clarita, California, were one of 300-some Americans evacuated to the US on Sunday. Pictured: Carl (far left) and Jeri (center, in black) with their friends and crew members on the cruise ship
On their flight from Japan to California, Carl developed a fever and was placed in isolation, and the couple was then transferred to Nebraska. Pictured: Jeri (left) and Carl
By the time they arrived, Jeri said her husband wasn’t able to walk, which she says officials believe is due to his rare autoimmune disorder.
Carl has Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder in which the immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system.
This causes parts of the body – or in some cases the whole body – to be paralyzed.
‘Because of his Guillain-Barré…he was barely able to walk,’ she said. ‘They think it’s the Guillain-Barré that’s making the symptoms worse. So we’re all being tested.’
After reportedly being diagnosed with the deadly virus, he was taken to a special biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medical Center.
‘I think I’m just a little out of sorts being away from my husband, and then also not having any belongings,’ Jeri told KETV.
‘I’d love to just take a shower, it’s been two days, or just wash my hair but I don’t have any basic necessities to do that.’
So far, 542 people on the ship have tested positive for coronavirus, 14 of whom were Americans. Pictured: Buses carrying US passengers who were aboard the quarantined cruise leaves Yokohama port
Despite the US earlier saying no infected passenger would be allowed to leave, those who tested positive were still allowed to board the planes because they did not have symptoms. Pictured: One of the two planes landing at Travis Air Force Base in California, which the Goldmans were on
She says her test results have come back negative but she is still in another week of the hospital where she will be isolated for close to two weeks.
Jeri says she is not allowed to see Carl so they communicate with each other over social media.
‘He’s been sleeping a lot, but when he wakes up, he Facebooks me, so that’s a nice way to communicate,’ she said.
More than 73,000 people have now been infected with the virus worldwide, while more than 1,800 people have died from it.
In the US, 15 cases have been confirmed 15 cases within the country and, separately, one American citizen died in China.
