Saskatoon man still quarantined after coronavirus scare on cruise ship

Last week, Saskatoon’s Al Stickney was a passenger on the Grand Princess cruise ship that had 21 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Currently, Stickney, his wife Heather and the 226 other Canadians who were aboard the cruise are in the 3rd day of a 14-day quarantine at the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, Ontario

On Friday, Stickney told CKOM’s John Gormley that the passengers are staying in hotel-like facilities on the base.

“They figure if you do not get the virus within 14 days of being quarantined they are going to give us a certificate saying we are free and clear to travel after that,” he said.

“Princess cruises has guaranteed that they will get us all home so that’s all we know at this point but we are expecting that to happen on March 24th.”

When asked if there is any mingling or activities among the quarantined people allowed Stickney joked “no, John and if you could get us our cable back I’d be really happy. No cable television in this building and we don’t know why.”

“We get to walk four times a day for a one hour period and those are scheduled for different buildings at different times so that we are not running into each other.”

In the meantime, Stickney and his wife are passing the time with their ebooks.

“We are going through the last of our Lee Child novels and looking for stuff from the public library because nothing comes in here that is not approved by the Red Cross,” he said.

“They have supplied us with some clothing and other necessities and we are doing alright, the food is adequate and we are keeping our spirits high.”