Couple separated by coronavirus quarantine speaks out
Carl Goldman and Jeri Seratti-Goldman are being held under quarantine separately after Carl was diagnosed with coronavirus and Jeri tested negative for the disease.
A couple separated by a coronavirus quarantine joined "Bill Hemmer Reports" Thursday to update the public on their condition as they mark their tenth day in isolation.
Carl Goldman, one of 11 American evacuees from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship who tested positive for the coronavirus, told Hemmer that he was recently transferred from the biocontainment facility to the quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
AT LEAST 11 AMERICAN DIAMOND PRINCESS EVACUEES TEST POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS
Carl's wife Jeri tested negative for the virus but must remain under quarantine until she spends the necessary 14 days in isolation for medical professionals to conduct the required tests.
Despite their close proximity, the couple explained that they have been unable to see each other in more than ten days.
"I am in a quarantined area near my wife, but we might as well be in different zip codes."
"I am in a quarantined area near my wife, but we might as well be in different zip codes," Carl Goldman told host Bill Hemmer. "So I'm so glad that you hooked us up virtually."
The couple detailed their 12-day ordeal on the cruise ship, after which they were cleared to travel back to the United States. During the trip home, Carl explained, he woke up from an in-flight nap and began to feel symptoms of the virus, such as a high fever and cough.
"The Diamond Princess, where we were taking our vacation, I think became a floating petri dish ... but at that time no one knew," he said.
"I did not realize that I had the virus until I got on board the plane back to the States, went to sleep, two hours later woke up with a fever that had shot up [to] over 103 [degrees]. And that's when they quarantined me on board the plane as we flew back from Tokyo to California."
The Goldmans and 11 other evacuees were immediately transferred to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where they began their 14 days in isolation.
Other than sporadic visits from doctors in hazmat suits, Goldman and his wife are restricted from human contact, they explained.
Jeri, who continues to test negative for the virus, is hoping to be released next week, pending another set of negative test results.
"I am putting it into the universe that I will be clear," she told Hemmer. "I'm on a roll."
DR. SIEGEL REPORTS FROM NEBRASKA BIOCONTAINMENT FACILITY
Carl said he hopes to join his wife on her return trip home to California next week after three tests on him came back negative, but his participation in a clinical study may delay his return.
"I am leaving Carl if he can’t come," Jeri said.
While Jeri remains optimistic, Hemmer pointed out that the current no-fly list could impede her ability to fly home.
"I am just praying when I get to the airport that I do not get stopped at TSA," she said.
"Yeah," Carl joked. "If I am on a no-fly list, I am taking a Wells Fargo Wagon to get home."
Asked to address the media hysteria over the virus, the couple tried to reassure the public, saying there is "no need" to panic.
"I think just have a thermometer... don't panic with this, and realize that this is going to be less of an impact in terms of deaths than the flu is each season," Carl said when asked for advice.
"Don't panic with this, and realize that this is going to be less of an impact in terms of deaths than the flu is each season."
"I think that people just have to educate themselves," Jeri added. "You know, the new way is not to shake a hand or give a kiss, we can do the Japanese way of bowing and staying 6 feet away from each other, washing your hands constantly, just be proactive."
"We don't want people to panic," she added. "They already are. And there is no need."
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Addressing her husband for potentially the last time before she heads home, Jeri had one final message to Carl.
"I will see you when you get back to California."
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