Coronavirus: 'We're all so scared' San Francisco woman quarantined onboard Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan

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Saturday, February 8, 2020
SF woman quarantined on board cruise ship in Japan
A Bay Area resident is quarantined at sea inside a cruise ship where 46 people have tested positive to the coronavirus.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Bay Area resident is quarantined at sea inside a cruise ship where 46 people tested positive to the coronavirus.

"Everything changed in a blink. You know yesterday I was in a cruise ship, really happy with entertainment, I could go swimming and now today I'm just in jail," said Julie Choy.

RELATED: Bay Area families canceling trips amid outbreak

Julie Choy says she's trapped inside her room. Her 15-day vacation started on Jan. 20, five days later a man onboard tested positive to the coronavirus.

The latest count is 46 people testing positive, among them 11 Americans. Now the Diamond Princess Cruise ship is anchored off the coast of Japan.

"When I tried to find out who got sick and if it was my next room nobody says anything. It's a mystery," said Choy.

Even though Choy is not symptomatic, her everyday routine begins with taking her own temperature. Food is left at her door. She's only allowed to leave her cabin every four days for an hour and a half.

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"(I'm having an) anxiety attack because the room I'm in right now is an interior room without windows. So every day and every hour is so long and the same," she said.

Choy and her family are feeling fine, but are taking precautions.

"We're taking our temperature ourselves," said Choy.

But she says everyone is going crazy. Approximately 3,700 people are on board the ship. The cruise was originally supposed to last for two weeks but passengers will be on board for a month, in quarantine, until Feb. 19.

RELATED: 4 passengers from New Jersey cruise ship being evaluated; all others cleared

Royal Caribbean International announced that is banning all passengers with Chinese, Hong Kong or Macau passports from boarding their cruise ships.

In the states, the CDC confirmed that 4 patients who arrived today at the Travis Air Force Base from Wuhan, China are symptomatic and will be held in isolation at local hospitals.

"All hands-on-deck approach try to contain this outbreak so it doesn't spread throughout the United States," said Dr. Henry Walke with the CDC.

There are 234 people quarantined on the base.

At the Port of San Francisco, new guidelines are coming for cruise ship passengers

"We've worked closely with our cruise ship partners, denying boarding to anyone who has traveled to impacted areas in the last 14 days. Anyone who is sick, we'll notify the coast guard," said Port of San Francisco spokesman Randy Quezada.

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