American 'coronavirus cruise' passenger alleges receiving threats at home
"There's a lot of unnecessary hysteria out here. And I would just urge everyone to chill a bit, use some common sense," he said.
By ZACHARY KEYSERBuses believed to carry the U.S. passengers of the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, leave at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo(photo credit: REUTERS)
Carl Goodman, a passenger of the Diamond Princess cruise ship who contracted the coronavirus while in the mass quarantine aboard the ship off the coast of Japan, spoke with the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire program about allegedly receiving death threats and other abuse upon his return to the United States.Goodman, owner of KHTS Radio in Santa Clara, California, remains in isolation at home and has spoken publicly about his experiences regarding the quarantine and the virus, now he is claiming that attention has brought about fear and panic among his community in the form of various abuses."They are as graphic as can be, in terms of threatening our lives. Getting very graphic about the kinds of deaths we would have, making threats on our grand kids. It runs the gambit there are crazies out there and we are now dealing with them," Goodman said.He further explained that people are "freaking out," that friends of his are explicitly telling him not to come see them for a month, adding that the "poor kid" who watched his dog while he was away allegedly got fired that day because he had been in contact with his wife."There's a lot of unnecessary hysteria out here. And I would just urge everyone to chill a bit, use some common sense," Goodman added.Goodman said that health effects he experienced after contracting the virus have been quite "mild," according to the BBC report."It was like having a mild cold. Other than my very high temperature and the dry cough that persists, it was totally mild. Not like a regular cold, where you sneeze, sniffle and have a sore throat. None of that, I didn't even get body aches. I did not get chills or heavy sweating when I had my high fever. So I would rank it as a very minor cold," Goodman concluded.The Diamond Princess liner was carrying 3,700 people, including 78 Britons, when it was quarantined in Yokohama on February 5 after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was found to have the virus.More than 620 passengers on board were infected with coronavirus.
