Elderly Couple That Caught Coronavirus On Cruise Returns To Hometown Healthy

The coronavirus has been ever-spreading all over the world, including right in the United States. One of the people who caught the coronavirus is an elderly couple from Atlanta, Georgia named Clyde and Renee Smith. At 80 years old, both of them and two grandchildren were aboard a cruise ship when the coronavirus outbreak began. Being elderly, they have a high risk of contracting the coronavirus and not surviving.

Today, they are both grateful that they are able to come home. “The welcome home sign — that was lovely to walk in and see that,” Renee says. “We are the type of people that they say that this virus would really take out, so we are very lucky.”

Elderly couple catches coronavirus, happy to be alive and healthy

Even though they tested positive for the virus, Clyde says that the two have remained “healthy” throughout it. The couple was actually stuck in Japan due to contracting the coronavirus and were just able to come back last Thursday night (3/5). The couple says that they left on the Diamond Princess cruise with their two grandsons on January 18th. One thing led to another, and they had soon heard that a passenger had gotten off the ship to Hong Kong. Then, they began hearing things about passengers contracting the coronavirus.

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“So, at that point, the Japanese government said that we were going to be quarantined,” Renee reveals. Everyone on that ship was tested. Renee and Clyde were sent to a Tokyo hospital and eventually taken to a nearby hospital when two of their tests eventually came up negative. Once Clyde’s pneumonia cleared up, they were given the green light to return home.

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“It was a rest though because they took care of everything at the hospital,” Clyde says. “Our church and our relatives and friends’ churches were all praying for us, and their prayers were answered.”

We’re glad to hear that this elderly couple made it through the coronavirus to the other side and are healthy!