Coronavirus: Grand Princess passenger glad to be home

Howard Lewis spoke to BBC Breakfast from his home in Aberdare

A man who was forced to spend six days in a windowless cabin with his wife on a coronavirus-hit cruise liner says he is relieved to be home.

Howard and Anne Lewis from Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taff, were among 135 UK passengers returned home from the Grand Princess in California.

They had been stuck on board after 19 crew members and two passengers on the liner tested positive for Covid-19.

He said it was "fantastic" to be home.

Grand Princess passengers were flown into Birmingham

Mr Lewis, 65, said watching films, messages from home and a WhatsApp group called 'lost at sea' which the couple were in with six other passengers had got them through the ordeal.

"We were in isolation from Thursday until Tuesday at four-o'clock - in that time I got out of the cabin for one hour for a bit of daylight," he told BBC Breakfast.

Howard and Anne Lewis, both 65, were on the cruise to celebrate his 65th birthday

"Food was running out towards the end, that was obvious."

He said after leaving the liner on Tuesday they had a three-hour wait on a bus before being taken to the airport and flown home.

"The plane was interesting to say the least," he said.

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Howard Lewis described the plane as "interesting to say the least"

"It was a cargo plane… in the corner there was a massive biohazard thing for taking Ebola patients.

"[It was] a little bit unnerving getting on a plane that had nothing in it at all....

"We landed in Birmingham airport. That was a bit unnerving, there were no windows at all on the plane, there were five staff on board all dressed in biohazard suits I'm assuming, you know those white suits."

He said after a "bit of confusion" at the airport they were given a chauffeur driven car home.

"When we got into the car there was food for us and a pack of essentials like milk and that for when you got home so can't really fault that you know," he said.

He said the cruise liner staff had been fantastic, adding: "The worked hard and they were under more risk than us because 19 of them had actually got it yet they still kept working."

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The couple, who are self isolating at home, are yet to be tested for the virus and are expecting someone to visit and test them at home.

Meanwhile, Ian Bartle, of Abersoch, in Gwynedd, who runs a pub and exports beer to Italy, is stuck in Tuscany after the lockdown there made getting a flight home an "impossible task".

Ian Bartle had hoped to fly back to the UK on 18 March but the lockdown in Italy ruined his plans

"My other route out is by car, which is also difficult, as I don't know what the restrictions are driving through the border between Italy and France," he said.

"My import business here is temporarily shut down. I've left my UK business in the hands of my partners."

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization labelled the outbreak of the disease as a pandemic.

There are now 460 confirmed cases in the UK - 19 of which are in Wales.