Coronavirus: Wolverhampton honeymoon couple released from UK quarantine
A Wolverhampton honeymoon couple who were caught up on a coronavirus-hit cruise ship have been released from quarantine in the UK.
Alan Steele and his wife Wendy Marshall Steele said they were 'very lucky' after the third death was confirmed in Britain in recent days.
They had spent 14 days at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, after returning home from Japan.
Lorry driver Mr Steele, from Tettenhall, and his new wife had been on board cruise liner Diamond Princess for their honeymoon in February.
But after testing positive for coronavirus on the ship he was taken to hospital in Tokyo on February 6, while his wife remained on the ship.
He remained in hospital for two weeks, despite continuing to show no symptoms. It was believed he may have just been a carrier.
He was eventually released from hospital on February 19, but revealed when he flew back to the UK he would then have to spend a further two weeks in quarantine, along with Wendy.
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After Wendy was released from quarantine, they both flew back to the UK on February 22 and were taken straight to the Wirral for a further 14 days in quarantine.
The couple appeared on ITV's This Morning today to speak of their experiences in quarantine.
Recalling his experiences of leaving the cruise ship and heading to a hospital on mainland Japan, Mr Steele told the TV presenters: "They treated you like a leper [a slang term for a person with leprosy].
"[They] were all in [hazmat] suits."
He says there was "confusion" over his tests and attributed this to a possible "language barrier".
He said he tested "negative" for his first test and negative in his second test.
"They told me, if you had two negative tests, you can go. They [then] said the first was positive. I thought it was negative. They did a third test and it came back positive.
"I said 'how can you get a [negative then] a positive test. I said 'could there be an error in the positive test?'
"We had a bit of a squabble. They came back half an hour later after I calmed down and they gave me [another] test. They gave me tests on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, but they didn't come back with the results until Thursday."
The couple’s wedding photographer and friend, Amanda Reynolds, told the Express & Star Alan and Wendy were over the moon to be released from quarantine.
She added: "I can’t wait to see them both. It has been a long time coming – and I can finally give them their wedding photos!”
Mr Steele revealed on Facebook on Friday that he would be released from quarantine at some point over the weekend.
He said: “Just been informed that the last test was negative so get freed tomorrow night whooopy.”
It came as a patient in Wolverhampton became the fourth person to die in the UK after testing positive for the virus. The death was announced as two more people in Wolverhampton tested positive and Dudley's first case was confirmed.
It is understood that the Wolverhampton case was at New Cross Hospital, with considerable speculation on social media over the first case at the hospital.
John Denley, director of public health for the Wolverhampton Council, said: “I’d like to reassure people that the risk to the general public remains low.”
Meanwhile Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that while holding sporting fixtures behind closed doors is an option, it is "premature" to take such steps or to cancel events now in light of the outbreak.
He told BBC Breakfast: "At the moment, the advice is clear from the chief medical officer, there isn't a need to cancel such events."
He added: "There's no reason for people either not to attend such events or to cancel them at this stage, but we keep it under review."
Asked about holding games behind closed doors as is the case in Italy, he said: "That is an option in the future but we are clear at this point there is no need for events to be cancelled.
"We are very cognisant of the impact the cancelling of events may have both in terms of the economic and social impact."
Asked about plans to shut museums, galleries or concert halls, Mr Dowden said: "I think all of this is quite premature at this stage, we are not anywhere near that sort of stage.
"Any decision will be taken on the basis of the facts and the evidence. But we are very clear - at this stage we are still in the contain phase and that means that there is no need to cancel such events, there's no need for people not to go to sporting events, to museums and so on."
In the wake of images of empty supermarket shelves, Mr Dowden said the Government is in "constant contact" with major retailers to ensure supplies are available and that shelves are restocked as necessary.
He told BBC Breakfast: "There is absolutely no need for anybody to stockpile or anything like that.
"We are confident that the supermarkets have the supply chains necessary to keep shelves stocked for people, so there really is no need for that (bulk-buying) to happen."
Dr David Nabarro, one of the World Health Organisation's six special envoys on coronavirus, said the Government is likely to be considering restrictions on religious and community gatherings to help delay the spread of the disease.
