Stuck in a college dorm room in Japan, Dr. Arnold Hopland is a man under quarantine.
His wife Jeanie is a patient at a Tokyo hospital.
Physically, they’re fine, he said. But the Elizabethton, Tennessee, resident is frustrated.
“There is no clear time schedule which will allow either of us to return to the United States we are being treated as individuals without a country,” Hopland texted WBIR on Tuesday.
The Hoplands were on a cruise earlier this month aboard the Diamond Princess that left Tokyo. There was an outbreak of the highly contagious coronavirus during their voyage.
The virus mostly has been reported in China, where thousands have been infected. Doctors also have seen an escalation of cases in South Korea, Italy and Iran. Some people have died from the virus.
Jeanie Hopland was diagnosed with it but has not fallen ill. Eventually she and her husband were moved off the cruise ship.
She’s now in a Tokyo hospital. He’s staying in a “quarantine facility” in a dorm at a college in the Tokyo area.
“Jeanie and I are both well without symptoms even though she is symptoms even though she is currently testing positive for the coronavirus,” he texted.
He said, “I have no contact with anyone except by phone.”
Hopland expressed frustration that they’re stuck in a situation they can’t seem to get out of. He’s not allowed to go outside the building.
He’s got a view from a balcony window.
“Food is delivered in grocery bags hung on hook on door,” he texted.
Hopland opens his door to take his food bag in and to set his waste bag out.
The doctor expressed appreciation for U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, whose district includes Elizabethton, for helping move off 280 Americans from the Diamond Princess.
Rep. Roe issued a statement Tuesday, saying he thinks the best way to care for the remaining Americans is to bring them back to the U.S.:
“I can only imagine how difficult this situation is for Dr. Arnold and Jeanie Hopland and the entire Hopland family. My staff and I have been in regular contact with the Hoplands. I continue to believe the safest and best way to care for the remaining Americans is to bring them back to the United States and have them quarantined here in our health care facilities,” he said. “This is a global health crisis, but we need to prioritize the care and safety of our own citizens. We will continue working with our public health officials to ensure the Hoplands and the remaining Americans overseas receive the best care possible.”
According to Hopland, however, health authorities “are now blocking another rescue of approximately 100 remaining Americans trapped by the original incompetent decisions they have made at every step involving handling of the covid19 outbreak,” he said in an email.
10News reached out to Roe’s office but hasn’t heard back.
“I need nothing but freedom from an incompetent (bureaucracy) within the USA government,” Hopland said in an email.
