London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

British couple on Diamond Princess test positive for coronavirus

British couple on Diamond Princess test positive for coronavirus

David and Sally Abel announce positive test, as UK says it is trying to organise evacuation of British passengers

A British couple who published video diaries from a cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan say they have tested positive for the coronavirus, as the UK government announced plans to evacuate citizens from the ship.

David Abel wrote in a Facebook post: “There is going to be a time of quiet. We have been proved positive and leaving for hospital soon. Blessings all xxx.”

The Abels – David and his wife, Sally – have given regular updates to the media about conditions onboard the Diamond Princess, which has been quarantined off Japan since 3 February after a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong tested positive for the coronavirus.

In a later post, however, Abel, from Oxfordshire, said he doubted his diagnosis.

“Frankly I think this is a setup! We are NOT being taken to a hospital but a hostel. That’s where partners are sent waiting out their quarantine,” he wrote. “No phone, no wifi and no medical facilities. I really am smelling a very big rat here! Waiting for the transfer now.”
The Abels’ reported positive diagnosis came as Japanese health authorities confirmed an additional 88 coronavirus infections on the Diamond Princess, bringing the total to 542. The ship accounts for the biggest cluster of cases outside mainland China.

The couple’s son, Steve Abel, said his parents were “not getting any communication” from the UK. “They are very high-spirited people,” he told BBC Breakfast, but added: “There are cracks in the armour and they are getting down. My mum breaks down in tears frequently, my dad is short-tempered. They are not getting any communication from our country, so they are in the dark and feeling very unloved.”
Asked in the comments below one of his posts whether he was sure the test was positive, he replied: “I doubt it was positive. If it was, we would be in hospital.”

Steve Abel told BBC Radio 5 live he was concerned that his father, who is diabetic, was not eating the right food, and called for his parents to be allowed to return home. “Whatever they have to go through next I would rather it be on UK soil,” he said. “They could be flown back asap and do whatever’s necessary here in a controlled environment. That’s what our family want.”

The virus causes only mild disease in four out of five people who get it, according to the World Health Organization, which said on Monday that analysis of data from Chinese authorities relating to 44,000 cases of Covid-19 – the name the disease has been given – in Hubei province suggested that 2% of cases were fatal.


Quick guide

For the past two weeks, passengers have been mostly confined to their cabins, where meals are brought to them by staff in masks and protective clothing.

Experts are still racing to understand the ease with which the virus has spread, but some have raised concerns that quarantine conditions imposed on the ship appeared to be backfiring.

The British Foreign Office said in a statement on Tuesday: “Given the conditions onboard, we are working to organise a flight back to the UK for British nationals on the Diamond Princess as soon as possible.

“Our staff are contacting British nationals onboard to make the necessary arrangements. We urge all those who have not yet responded to get in touch immediately.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×