GATINEAU, QC -- A Gatineau couple is among the nearly 3,700 people quarantined on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan.
According to a post on Facebook, Chantal Menard says her parents Diane and Bernard Menard are among the guests sequestered on the Diamond Princess Cruise.
Menard posted saying her parents had been told to stay in their room, and wait for food to be brought to them.
The couple was due to return home on Tuesday, but passengers and crew have been quarantined on the boat after concerns of coronavirus surfaced onboard.
251 Canadians are on the vessel. It’s not clear when the Gatineau couple and the other passengers will be able to leave the boat.
By Wednesday, at least 20 passengers had tested positive for coronavirus and were transported to a hospital in Yokohama, a port city outside Tokyo.
Officials said the cruise would be keeping guests on the ship for at least two weeks.
Meanwhile, local travel agencies say the outbreak has been a logistical nightmare for both staff and clients.
Ottawa's TTQ Travel says about 80 per cent of their business is to China.
"[They're saying] I'm stuck in China and I want to come back home, and others have tickets here and they want to come back home to China," said Tingting Wang, the director of TTQ Travel.
"We have to call them [airlines] for three or four hours to re-issue tickets."
Staff have been working overtime at TTQ Travel, making adjustments and changes to itineraries free of charge for clients.
"After we issue tickets, we need to explain to them, 'I'm sorry it's cancelled again'," said Wang.
"Can you imagine? People are frustrated."
The company hopes the government will offer some sort of financial assistance as Wang expects the issues will last into the summer season.
