A Utah man who has been stuck aboard a quarantined cruise ship off the coast of Japan has tested positive for coronavirus.
John Haering of Tooele was sailing on the "Diamond Princess" cruise liner with his wife Melanie, when the two became quarantined amid an outbreak of coronavirus on the ship.
While John felt fine at first, he said he developed a fever that last for three days. He said it reached 104 degrees at one point, and with no medicine available, he used cold towels for relief.
On the fourth day, Haering said he awoke with no fever and felt better. That's when a doctor called him and told Haering that he was going to the hospital.
An ambulance took Haering to a hospital in Chiba, near Tokyo. Haering learned Friday morning that he tested positive for COVID-19, also known as Novel Coronavirus.
He is now isolated in his small hospital room, and Haering showed Fox 13 how medical staff are serving him meals and drinks through a cabinet in the wall that they can access from the other side. He said he has been talking to family, as he passes the time alone in his room.
Haering said doctors will test him again in three days to see if he's still infected. In order to be released from the hospital, Haering said he needs to test negative for coronavirus twice in a row. This means Haering could be in the hospital for anywhere from more than a week, to more than a month.
Haering tells FOX 13 that he feels better now than he did earlier in the week.
"I feel great, I don't like the situation I'm in. Health-wise, I feel good. I don't have any respiratory problems, I don't have a fever, I don't have any problems whatsoever," Haering said. "I’m detained, I don't have my freedom to leave. I'm detained until they say I can go."
John's wife Melanie said so far, she has not shown any signs of symptoms, but has not been tested.
