A couple from North Texas recalled being quarantined in Greece for 19 days after testing positive for COVID-19, despite being vaccinated against the virus.
Johnny and Donna Knight were planning for their 47-year wedding anniversary trip for months and hoped to get on board the Norwegian Cruise Lines to cruise the Greek Islands, WFAA reported on Saturday.
But Donna tested positive for COVID after arriving in Greece where she and her husband weren’t allowed to get on the ship and were asked to quarantine in a hotel room in downtown Athens.
“I was just like numb, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I just couldn’t believe [it]. I didn’t feel [sick],” Donna told WFAA.
The couple were first isolated in the room for 10 days. Later, they were isolated for a second quarantine period of seven days after they both tested positive for COVID again.
“We looked at each other and said, ‘We feel like we are in jail. We feel like we are in solitary confinement,'” Donna said. “We both had our masks on and we were trying to social distance.”
As the couple recalled their living conditions during their quarantine, Johnny told the news outlet that they had a difficulty with the air conditioner in their room amid a heatwave that Greece was experiencing.
Donna and Johnny received a COVID test after 17 days in which they tested negative and were allowed to go back to the U.S. The couple reportedly missed their cruise trip, but were able to do some sightseeing before heading back home. They don’t plan to go on any other trips soon until the pandemic ends.
Travel plans for many people have been impacted due to COVID as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to update its travel guidelines.
Earlier this month, the CDC warned U.S. citizens from traveling to 16 countries due to high COVID risk, including Greece and Ireland.
Other countries included Andorra, Curaçao, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iran, Isle of Man, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Libya and Malta.
The CDC added those 16 countries to its Level 4 travel advisory, which means they are deemed as nations with a “very high” risk that have over 500 COVID cases per 100,000 residents in the last 28 days.
According to a recent report by the CDC, those who are fully vaccinated against COVID could still contract the virus. For instance, 25 percent of Los Angeles County residents who tested positive for COVID were fully vaccinated, the CDC said.
The agency added that around 12 percent of people who were hospitalized due COVID and 12 percent who died from the virus were also fully vaccinated.
Newsweek contacted the CDC for further comments and updates regarding its travel guidelines, but didn’t immediately receive a response.
Photo by Athanasios Gioumpasis/Getty Images
