Coronavirus in Scotland: Edinburgh couple tell of their lockdown hell in Rome

'It's worse than prison'

A COUPLE stranded abroad after their dream cruise was wrecked by coronavirus have described life under enforced lockdown in Rome.

The Evening News told how Bill Shaw and wife Carol’s cross Atlantic cruise turned sour within days with one passenger dropping dead at their feet.

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Finally evacuated from the Costa Luminosa ‘death ship’ in Savona, northern Italy, the Stockbridge couple are now in 14 days isolation at a hotel.

Carol and Bill with daughter SarahCarol and Bill with daughter Sarah
Carol and Bill with daughter Sarah

“We’ve got security outside the door - we’re not allowed outside and not allowed out of the room,” said Carol, 56.

“Our food is delivered by guys in white suits, masks and gloves. They leave it at the door and a few minutes later we pick it up.

“It’s cold by the time we get it, it’s made somewhere else and delivered to the hotel.”

Replacement medication for Bill’s type two diabetes has finally arrived after he was down to his last couple of pills.

But the 68-year-old has lost over a stone in weight during his ordeal. “All we’ve eaten for three days is dried bread with no butter - it’s disgusting,” said Carol.

“It’s worse than prison. I bet prisoners here get better food than we’re getting in here.”

“We got here at 4.40am and they had no record of our names. It took till 5.30am to register. The room was filthy and the fridge didn’t work.”

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The British embassy has sent them a kettle and food packages of cereal, but no milk, two apples, two oranges and two carrots.

“I burst into tears, I’ve got two girls back home and a dog who I miss so much,” said Carol, of Sarah, 24, Jennifer, 29, and three-year-old apricot toy poodle, Calla.

“Some days I’m up, some days I’m down. Some days I don’t want to get out of bed. I just want to sleep until we’re ready to go - but we’re not 100 percent sure we’ll be leaving.”

Carol and Bills quarantine ends on April 3 but with borders closing and flights being cancelled, their return to Scotland has been thrown into uncertainty.

The couple are also angry the authorities are refusing to take into account their period confined to a cabin on board Costa Luminosa - meaning 20 days isolation in total.

A mass evacuation of passengers on Thursday and Friday found 36 people on board infected with the coronavirus.

“They’re calling it the ‘death ship’ because there were so many cases,” said Carol.

And yet neither have shown any symptoms of the virus as they continue to take their own temperatures daily.

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Bill said: “Every other nationality has gone home but we’ve been let down by the Westminster government - though the British embassy is sending what it can.”

Costa Cruises has been approached for comment.

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