Ellis Vincent: Hey Scott Morrison, get Aussies aboard Diamond Princess home

After two weeks quarantined in our cabins at sea, we now face more isolation on home soil. It’s time Scott Morrison treated his citizens with some respect, writes Diamond Princess passenger Ellis Vincent.

• Aussie cruisers set to be evacuated as death toll soars

Dear Mr Morrison,

It’s my 77th birthday today and I won’t be celebrating.

Instead I’m in a state of stress and anxiety about the dreadful situation my wife Kimberly and I face as quarantined passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

Neither of us are ill. In fact, we have done everything possible to minimise any potential for exposure to the coronavirus outbreak on board.

Because of our age and underlying medical conditions we have been tested by a Japanese medical team.

That was days ago, and we were told that we would be notified only if the test came back positive.

Australian couple Ellis and Kimberly Vincent from Banora Point, NSW, are stuck on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. Picture: Supplied

We’ve been isolated in our cabin since February 4. We have a balcony that enables us to get fresh air, so we haven’t taken up the offer to exercise on the open decks. That’s a decision we made to protect ourselves.

Throughout this ordeal, we’ve kept a strong mindset knowing we had a release date, this Wednesday February 19, to work towards.

But now that the goalposts are being moved, we’re not coping.

If your government decides to follow the United States’ lead and repatriate the Australians on board on a Royal Australian Air Force plane or a chartered Qantas flight, please don’t make all of us enter another quarantine period.

Ellis and Kimberly have been isolated in their cabin since February 4, while other passengers diagnosed with the virus have been taken to hospital. Picture: Getty Images

If we don’t have coronavirus, we should be free to go home once we reach Australian shores.

Personal freedoms are at stake here, and we feel like we are being hijacked and kidnapped.

Please don’t hold us against our will longer than we have been already.

We are distressed about not knowing if and when we can get back to our home in Banora Point, New South Wales. We miss our life. We miss our cats.

We just want to feel safe and secure and get home.

Ellis Vincent has asked Prime Minister Scott Morrison to not subject Australian passengers to any further quarantine if they are evacuated from the cruise ship. Picture: Getty Images

We understand the role of quarantine to protect the broader population, but we have done our time.

We have been more isolated and protected than other Australians.

The uncertainty we face is hugely distressing and we imagine that we’re not the only ones feeling this way.

Please listen to us rather than play us like pawns in this diplomatic mess.

Yours sincerely,

Ellis Vincent

Ellis Vincent is an Australian passenger stuck on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

Originally published as Ellis Vincent: Hey Scott Morrison, get Aussies aboard Diamond Princess home