Good news for four American passengers from a Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan passengers who have been under a two-week quarantine at UNMC in Omaha for coronavirus.
Hospital officials say two of them were released from the quarantine Sunday night and two more were released on Monday.
Eleven other passengers remain under quarantine at UNMC and hospital officials say they hope to release more of them later this week.
"There are several who have the potential to test negative for the third time and be able to go home this week," Dr. Mike Wadman said at a Monday morning news conference.
One of the passengers going home Monday is JoAnne Kirkland from Tennessee. "I was just in shock. I just didn't think about having a virus on the ship. I felt safe."
She and Jeri Seratti-Goldman are both grateful for the care they received Omaha. Seratti-Goldman and her husband were both brought to UNMC. "He was the one who ended up in the biocontainment unit because he had a pre-existing condition that had already broken down his immune system."
While she is excited to be going home to California, Seratti-Goldman says she will do so without her husband, who is still being monitored.
Those released Monday had tested positive for COVID-19 while the two others tested negative throughout the quarantine process.
Physicians and health officials are also stressing the importance of prevention at this time. They suggest “social distancing” and regular hand washing. They recommend using the same measures used to prevent the spread of the flu.
Photo courtesy of 6 News.