ROME -- The Italian captain of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which had been ordered to quarantine off the Port of Yokohama amid onboard novel coronavirus infections last year, told The Yomiuri Shimbun that letters of encouragement from passengers during the unprecedented ordeal lifted the crew members' spirits.
In a written interview, Gennaro Arma, the 45-year-old captain, said the guests "wrote some of the most beautiful messages I have ever read."
The ordeal began when he was informed that a passenger aboard the vessel was infected. For the first time in his long career, Arma said it felt as if his blood froze. Group infections were soon confirmed.
On Feb. 2, 2020, Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry was notified that a man who had disembarked the ship in Hong Kong was found to have been infected with the virus. On the night of Feb. 4, 2020, 10 passengers and crew members tested positive for the virus. The following day, the quarantine of passengers and crew members began.
The quarantine imposed a great burden on not only the passengers, who had to remain in their rooms, but also the crew members, many of who share rooms.
The passengers began disembarking on Feb. 19, but only a limited number of people were allowed to do so each time. It was not until March 1 that all the people aboard the ship were able to disembark.
Referring to this experience, Arma said, "Among so many difficulties, just when it seems that the end is within reach ... you discover that the light you thought you saw at the end of the tunnel was actually a punishment."
Even so, Arma called the nearly monthlong period of quarantine "the most challenging in my career, but also the most rewarding."
The captain said letters that passengers wrote every day to express their gratitude for the crew help support him and his crew.
"I would definitely say that the overwhelming response from our guests sending letters of encouragement was one of the most touching moments," Arma said.
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