‘Coronavirus isn’t that bad’: Cruise passenger, 66, who caught the virus on the Diamond Princess and remains in quarantine says ‘it’s just like a cold and bronchitis was worse’
Carl Goldman, 66, contracted the coronavirus aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan
He was evacuated to a bio-containment center in Nebraska
Goldman claims that his symptoms were ‘mild’ and nothing compared to having bronchitis
He had a fever, sore throat and a cough but compares it to ‘recuperating from a regular cold’
He adds that the coronavirus ‘doesn’t have to be a horrible calamity’ and that there is ‘no need’ to panic
He also advises that people buy a digital thermometer, drink warm fluids and exercise to ward off the virus and its symptoms
Six people have died of the coronavirus who were on the Diamond Princess
A Japanese official now claims the quarantine on the ship may have been flawed
By FRANCES MULRANEY
DAILYMAIL.COM
29 February 2020
An American man who contracted the coronavirus while a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that has seen six deaths from the illness has said there is ‘no need’ to panic as the deadly disease is similar to a common cold.
Carl Goldman, 66, left the U.S. in January for a 16-day cruise around eastern Asia with his wife Jeri Seratti-Goldman.
Almost two months on, the California couple has still not returned home and are in quarantine at a bio-containment facility at the University of Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
Goldman said that the symptoms of the virus, which has now claimed almost 3,000 lives globally, is mild and that he had a much worse time when he contracted bronchitis.
‘I am in my late 60s, and the sickest I’ve ever been was when I had bronchitis several years ago. That laid me out on my back for a few days,’ Goldman wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post.
‘This has been much easier: no chills, no body aches. I breathe easily, and I don’t have a stuffy nose. My chest feels tight, and I have coughing spells. If I were at home with similar symptoms, I probably would have gone to work as usual.’
Goldman and his wife left the Diamond Princess cruise ship believing that they had avoided contracting the disease.
The cruise ship was first warned of the onboard outbreak on January 17 when a passenger who had disembarked a few days earlier tested positive.
The cruise quickly turned back to Yokohama in Japan where the entire ship was kept in quarantine for two weeks.
Over 700 other passengers have been diagnosed with confirmed cases, six of whom died.
The Goldmans disembarked from the ship after quarantine in Japan showing no symptoms but Carl was suddenly struck ill on the chartered flight back to the US.
Jeri Goldman continues to test negative for the virus, despite sharing a room with her husband during the ship’s quarantine.
