BOISE — Buhl resident Tim Pond was aboard the quarantined diamond princess. He's now off the ship, though still in quarantine.
“I've been doing okay," said Pond.
He's waiting to get back home to his friends and family in Idaho, after weeks of quarantine.
"They’ve been worried that I’m going to be next, so I think they’re relieved to know I'm staying healthy," said Pond.
Pond initially was told the Diamond Princess cruise quarantine would end February 19; that date now extends to March 2.
“We were told we’d have to do a 14-day quarantine here in the U.S., and the Embassy sent a plane to Japan and picked up whoever wanted to come home, and there were I don’t remember how many Americans that decided to stay on the ship," said Pond.
He left the ship to continue quarantine in the U.S. He’s currently at Travis Air Force base in California with others for the remainder.
“It’s been pretty much like on the ship, they bring us meals, and we’ve been quarantined, we get to go out for walks, and they come and give us a temperature check every morning and night," said Pond.
They get a quarantine newsletter every day, according to Tim, but they are no longer told if new cases have been diagnosed. According to national outlets, nearly 700 people contracted the virus on the ship, and four have died. So far, Tim has tested negative for the virus on each swab test he has taken. He has big plans for the first thing he'll do back home when that time comes.
“Probably rub my dog if she still remembers me," said Pond.
