A passenger (left) disembarks from the Diamond Princess cruise ship - in quarantine due to fears of the novel coronavirus - at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Yardley Wong's nightmare did not end the day she disembarked from the Diamond Princess. After testing negative for COVID-19, Wong together with her husband and son were the first batch of passengers getting off from the ship. Then came the online bullying.

After stepping off the ship, Wong took a picture of the building right outside the place where she continues to be quarantined. She also took one of the first meals she ate in her quarantine room. Unexpectedly, she was then attacked for the photos shared online with some interpreting that she went out to dine. Many netizens on Twitter cursed her for being a potential public health risk. 

"It is so sad that the world can be cruel when there is a lot of fear and panic. People judge and label you just for having encountered the virus," Wong told the Global Times. Wong and her family got on the ship from Hong Kong for Spring Festival holidays.

Wong said the Hong Kong government's move to send chartered flights to rescue passengers on the ship is "the right thing" and is the" extreme safety measure." 

Despite criticism mounting of the Japanese government's quarantine measures on the Diamond Prince, Wong shared different opinions. "I think it is just so unfair to criticize Japan solely. The whole epic crisis was handled by several parties - the ship company, Ministry of Health and Japanese military," she said. 

"COVID-19 is a very scary and tricky virus. Many criticized Japan for not evacuating the passengers out of the ship. But we all have to remember there were a lot of safety measures that needed to be done besides of the safety and well-being of onboard passengers. The safety and well-being of Japanese citizens also had to be taken into account. All parties tried to make the decision to minimize the damage but no decisions are perfect," she said.

Like a dream

Wong traveled with her family of seven people. The trip was for celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year as well as her ninth anniversary of marriage. Wong booked the tickets five months before the cruise embarked.

The first several days on the cruise was "like a dream," Wong said. With passengers from dozens of countries, the atmosphere was quite relaxed. "What captured me the most was seeing many groups of friends, including old ladies and families, playing mahjong on the ship. Their laughter and joy really reflected that the best moments of life are spending time with the people you love," she said.

Before the outbreak on the ship, Wong's family already knew the coronavirus may spread easily, so they wore masks, washed their hands all the time and avoided dining at peak times or joining too many activities.

They heard about the news of the epidemic in Hong Kong on January 31 on their way to Okinawa. During that day, many friends of Wong from Hong Kong sent messages on WhatsApp about the situation.

 "We started worrying. We went to customer service to ask about the situation. The ship company was already informed by Hong Kong government. I am sure that they were also in panic and trying to figure what to do, but they promised to keep us updated," Wong recalled.

"We felt that there were definitely people that got infected since we knew the virus is very contiguous. We had prepared our mind that we had a high possibility of getting quarantined in Japan," she said. 

The ship arrived one day early in Yokohama on February 3, and the captain announced that Japanese authorities required a full inspection on board before allowing passengers to disembark. 

They were then asked to stay in their room and wait for Japanese officers and doctors to take samples for testing.

There were two processes where the first group of officers only wore masks and gloves with a survey and thermometer. That afternoon, officers in protective outfits came over to take samples for swap tests. 

"We sensed that we had very high chance of being quarantined, but we just tried to not worry and went back to sleep. We hoped that the next day should be okay," she said.

They came to know that circumstances were not good when they were told the quarantine period officially started on February 5. 

"We knew the nightmare had begun."

Virus is real

Living in a cabin without a window, Wong said they "lost track of time and day" when they were inside the cabin. 

"It is so hard to get on with a daily routine inside the cabin, the only way we know about time was meal delivery," she said.

The cabin's interior was very dry because of the poor ventilation system, recalled Wong. They anxiously checked body temperatures about 30 times a day. "My husband and I asked each other every day if we got a fever or other symptoms. We were so paranoid during the stay in the cabin."

"My husband is the most anxious as he was the one who opened the door most of the time so he always worried that he had a highest chance to get infected," she said.

Wong's worry was also shared by other passengers. Several of them including Wong took to Twitter and Facebook to post updates.  

"It helps us to combat our anxiety and reach out as we were so isolated inside the cabin. Somehow, we managed to find there were passengers doing the same thing on both Twitter and Facebook, so we started to communicate with each other and help each other throughout the crisis." 

A Japanese national who gave his name as Daxa is among those who posted on Twitter about the food and other aspects of quarantine on a daily basis. His Twitter posts and photos gained many views and supportive comments.

Daxa told the Global Times that he did not feel that worried on the ship. 

Wong said the ship company took care of them well and consistently delivered good meals during quarantine. At first, the crew still delivered food with plates and utensils. until the fifth day of quarantine, food started to be delivered by disposable food boxes, she said. 

"I felt worried for the crew as they took on the high risk of virus exposure to take care of us, doing laundry, delivering food and placing daily notices at our doors," Wong said.

Despite efforts to keep their spirits up, Wong said the situation on the ship deteriorated quickly. A girl who talked to Wong on social media was diagnosed positive for the virus. An elderly couple whom Wong helped with translation work were also diagnosed.

"It was such a heartbreaking situation and I couldn't help but break out in tears. All you know is this virus is real," she said. 

While we were allowed to step on the deck every day, we couldn't truly relax, Wong said. .

"There was quite an amount of people on the deck. When we heard someone cough, I guess it was because the air was so dry. We normally just walked away quickly. We maybe were paranoid but at the moment it was better to be cautious than sorry," she recalled.

Gratitude over fear

When Wong, her husband and son were allowed to get off the ship before they got their test results, they were so stressed that their bodies were shaking, remembers Wong.

I remember my husband was still testing his body temperature. I am not sure if it was due to anxiety, but the first test of body temperature he recorded was high. He cried immediately and thought he got the virus, but I calmed him down and told him to test his body temperature again. His body temperature actually was normal, she said.

When they finally received the test results and knew that they were negative, they hugged each other and burst into tears, a relief from anxiety and the unknown.

   Wong and her family just finished quarantine and returned home.

"We have to deal with a lot of traumatic anxiety and are counseling each other to get better day by day," she said.

 "My deep gratitude goes to the crew and captain most of all. They are the heroes of all time, put us first and helped us before themselves which is something I don't know how to repay," said Wong. "That is why this unfortunate event will not stop me to go cruising again. Nobody wanted this happen and we, including our governments, did our best to minimize the risk."