Citrus County couple home and healthy after coronavirus cruise quarantines

Couple returns from coronavirus cruise quarantine

Briona Arradondo reports

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. - After spending a month in quarantine, a Citrus County couple is glad to be back home and shared what that experience was like amid a coronavirus outbreak worldwide.

Phil and Gay Courter returned to Crystal River Tuesday night after their vacation abroad turned into a nightmare. They spent four weeks in quarantine off the coast of Japan and then in Texas.

"I'm a writer, so I wrote. And it was a great story to tell," said Gay.

First, their cruise on the Diamond Princess was quarantined near Japan for an outbreak of COVID-19.

"We're of an age group where we're more vulnerable to this, and we were really worried about our health," she said.

Then they went into a second two-week quarantine at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

"The quarantine in Texas was very strict. It was well run. It was extremely unpleasant for us to be basically in a motel room for two weeks," said Gay. "We were heavily tested, and we know we left completely negative. There were some people in our group who turned positive, and they were medically treated."

The Courters aboard the flight out of Japan.

Now, with Tampa Bay area health officials currently handling three positive cases, the couple is focused on staying healthy.

"It's in our community. We can't quarantine Tampa Bay, so we just have to deal with them case by case," she said.

While the couple is not letting panic set in, they are changing future travel plans.

"Believe it or not, we were planning on a safari in Africa in April. But we really don't feel we have the mental or physical energy right now to do that," Gay said.

After being stuck in a room for a month straight, they are readjusting to life with much more freedom. They say they got through it all with the help of their family and friends.

"We heard from people from all phases of our lives, got back in touch with us. So, that was a blessing in disguise," said Gay.

The Courters said they are now catching up on paying bills and returning to their business. While the quarantine was unpleasant for them, the couple said they knew it was the right thing to do to keep everyone else safe.

If you feel sick

The Florida Department of Health has opened a COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121. Agents will answer questions Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Questions may also be emailed to covid-19@flhealth.gov. Email responses will be sent during call center hours.

LINK: Florida's COVID-19 website

CORONAVIRUS IN FLORIDA: What you need to know