Ebola Impacts Arlington Couple's Anniversary Cruise
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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - An Arlington couple who thought they'd be escaping the Ebola news out of North Texas found themselves in the middle of it.
Lonnie and Marnie Harris were passengers on the Carnival Magic cruise ship, which became the site of an Ebola quarantine at sea.
The couple boarded the ship on Sunday October 12, for a week-long Caribbean cruise to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
Five days into the trip, when they expected the ship to be departing Belize for a stop in Cozumel, Mexico, they found out a passenger on board may have been exposed to the virus in Dallas.
"You know, what are the odds?" said Marnie.
The Harrises remember last Thursday, first hearing that a medical emergency may have been the cause for the delayed departure to Mexico. Then, the captain came over the PA system and announced one passenger on board, a health worker from Dallas, had supervised the handling of specimens in a lab.
That worker voluntarily self-quarantined on the ship. Familiar with the 21-day quarantines of healthcare workers happening back in North Texas, passengers wondered if that would also be their fate.
"We were all making jokes, 'Well, if the passenger ends up with Ebola, I guess we all might be stuck on this boat," said Marnie.
The Harrises didn't panic. They say it was more of an inconvenience for the 4,000 people on board.
In addition to regular cleaning on board, Marnie recalls seeing ship crew members doing extra work in in public spaces.
"You did notice more people out in the hallways, cleaning handles. They already had hand sanitizers all through the ship," said Marnie.
At one point a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flew over the vessel, to pick up a blood sample from the quarantined worker. That sample tested negative for Ebola.
"There was no fever, no symptoms at all and no reason for concern, but the CDC changed their protocol during the trip, and that's why they were trying to get [the health worker] off the ship," said Marnie.
"When we found out we could get off the ship, I think everybody was pretty happy," said Lonnie.
The Harrises plan to take the Carnival Magic again next year, on a cruise to different ports of call. The cruise liner offered passengers an on-board credit during last week's trip, as well as half-off a cruise in the future.
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