US couple quarantined in Spain amid coronavirus outbreak get all-clear after 'horror vacation'

close

Video

Could the summer bring an end to COVID-19?

A SARS-CoV-2 study suggests summer weather could potentially aid in slowing the spread of the virus.

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox.  Sign up here.

MADRID - A Georgia couple who was traveling throughout southern Spain earlier this month until members of their tour party tested positive with coronavirus are now on their way back home after getting the all-clear from doctors.

Sharon Wells, 62, and her husband Craig Carpenter, 55, of Pooler, Ga., and their party were quarantined for 19 days at the four-star Sol Melia Hotel in Torremolinos, a holiday resort near Malaga.

Sharon Wells, 62, and her husband Craig Carpenter, 55, of Pooler, Georgia, are quarantined in the Sol Melia in Torremolinos, Spain amid the coronavirus outbreak. (Courtesy of Sharon Wells)

A 70-year-old American man who was on the tour died in the hospital from the virus. He was treated for COVID-19 with the group's Spanish tour guide at a hospital in nearby Ronda.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Wells, a retired nurse, said 19 members of the tour were cleared to go back to the U.S. but four others are being re-tested after suffering fevers. They are awaiting the results.

Of those who have to stay, two are being treated in a hospital. One is in intensive care and has been on a ventilator for four days.“This was a horrific experience; it was a vacation from hell,” Wells told Fox News in a phone interview from her hotel. “I felt like I was in solitary confinement for 20 days in a foreign country with people who did not understand us.”

Sharon Wells tested positive for COVID-19, however, she has not shown any symptoms. Her husband Craig Carpenter tested negative. (Courtesy of Sharon Wells)

Wells tested positive for the virus but her husband tested negative.

“I have never felt so alone and afraid. I wasn't afraid for myself but for my friends and family at home," she said.  "They were pouring out the prayers for our return. People I didn't know were sending their prayers to me and my husband.

US COUPLE QUARANTINED IN SPAIN HOTEL AMID CORONAVIRUS SAY IT COULD BE A LOT WORSE

She continued: “I kept the faith and stayed strong. With God all things are possible. I had complained about it raining since Saturday. I listened to a young minister preach in (the U.S.) He said we have to go through something, then the rain comes. I took that as going through trials and tribulations but God has sent the rain to wash it all away.

“I went to the doctor and he said you have been cleared to go home. I jumped and shouted 'Hallelujah, thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus!”

She praised the staff at the hotel where she stayed who even went out to Burger King to get her a burger.

Doctors gave the couple the all-clear as they had shown no symptoms of the illness after nearly three weeks in isolation.

Wells and Carpenter, a retired former computer programmer, had planned a two-week vacation in Spain because they wanted to see the Iberian country.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Spain now has the world's second-highest tally of coronavirus deaths after a 738 spike was recorded on Wednesday, the highest so far in one day. With 3,434 fatalities, Spain surpassed China's 3,285 and has more than half of Italy's 6,820.

The White House and Senate leaders of both parties have agreed on unprecedented emergency legislation to rush sweeping aid totaling some $2 trillion to businesses, workers and a health care system slammed by the coronavirus pandemic.