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The fears of the cruise crew in quarantine 3:46
(CNN) - This vacation from hell just doesn't end.
More than 300 Americans who were quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise for almost two weeks finally returned home Sunday night. But his trip back to the United States felt like changing one ordeal for another.
"They have sent more than a dozen emails assuring us that there will be no additional quarantine, and they just told us they would put us in quarantine for 14 more days," Karey Maniscalco said sobbing.
"I just lost a whole month of my life."
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Others, such as Gay Courter of Florida, thanked the United States government.
"I want to go to a place where I feel safe, and that is under US jurisdiction," he said. "I just want to thank President Trump and the United States government ... There has been a lot of silence, but now we realize that in silence he has been preparing a very good plan."
More than 3,600 passengers have been trapped on the cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, since February 4.
Since then, at least 456 people in the Diamond Princess tested positive for the new coronavirus, which has killed more than 1,700 people and infected more than 71,000 worldwide.
CNN gave an exclusive look at the trip from the ship to a convoy of buses and flights contracted by the United States government that took more than 300 Americans to military bases in California and Texas.
As they prepared to board the two planes, an official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told them not to expect a normal flight.
"This is a 747 cargo plane," said the official, using full protective equipment. “Therefore, there is less isolation than a normal passenger plane. So bring extra layers to keep warm. ”
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Before boarding the planes, passengers sat for hours on buses, without access to toilets. A health worker in front of a bus was covered from head to toe with protective medical equipment, as were all others who come into contact with quarantined passengers.
"We are waiting. I really don't know what we are waiting for, ”Maniscalco said from behind his mask on the bus.
Finally, they were allowed to leave the buses and get on the runway at Tokyo Haneda Airport. Although exhausted, they were excited.
Once on board the plane, they sat in temporary seats with makeshift bathrooms and no passenger windows.
"This is first class," a woman joked.
The flights carried 14 passengers who tested positive for coronaviruses, but showed no symptoms.
US health officials apparently learned of the positive test results after those passengers boarded the buses and made a last-minute decision that allowed them to board the flights.
Infected passengers were placed in a specialized containment area on flights, isolating them from the rest of the passengers.
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But Maniscalco said he was still worried about his health.
"They are not good conditions," he said on the plane, even with his face mask.
“Nobody here has had the temperature taken by the federal government, or any other government. So we are all sitting in very close and narrow places. Everyone is sitting next to each other. I will have a girl sitting here in just a minute. It seems dangerous. ”
After landing, Maniscalco had a more optimistic view of the situation.
"Every person we met was the friendliest and most thoughtful person," he said.
“They knew we were angry and scared, and they did everything in their power to make us comfortable. They kept saying that they knew we had been through a terrible experience and how stressed we were, and now we are safe. ”