PORTLAND, Oregon — In February 2020 the news hit of a new, mysterious virus spreading in Asia. Thousands had to quarantine on board the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, including a Forest Grove couple. Rebecca and Kent Frasure were on the ship in Japan when the novel coronavirus climbed aboard and began spreading like wildfire.
"We thought it was going to go away quickly," Rebecca said. "We didn't know anything compared to what we know now."
"There were so many firsts on that ship," Kent added.
Rebecca was among hundreds on board who tested positive. She was the first Oregonian KGW spoke with who'd been diagnosed with COVID-19. We checked in with the Frasures multiple times as the weeks went on. A year later, they gave KGW an update on life post-COVID over Zoom.
At the time, Rebecca's diagnoses landed her in a Tokyo hospital for nearly a month, although she only had mild symptoms. She experienced a low-grade fever, fatigue and a dry cough but, at the time, Japan required she and other patients quarantine in the hospital.
Rebecca had to test negative twice before getting cleared to return to the U.S. That took 28 days. Kent never tested positive but was kept on the ship for weeks, eventually allowed to wait for his wife at a hotel in Tokyo. In March, seven and a half weeks after first hopping aboard the cruise, they finally returned home.
"It's one of these once in a lifetime - hopefully - situations," Kent said.
"It's just one of those things that changes you," Rebecca added. "It is a surreal thing to think about - even now - that that all happened."
Rebecca said she felt like there was a stigma around her having COVID-19, especially because she was so open about it. She worried about that when she returned home.
"Especially when we first got back I didn't want to go out in public, honestly," she said.
Fortunately, her worries didn't materialize.
"Our stress level increased faster than other folks but everybody else caught up quickly. We were already on this really high alert when we came home," Kent told KGW.
Kent's employer, Intel, and Rebecca's employer, Providence Health Plans, allowed them to take leave. And they said Princess Cruise Line handled the situation "beautifully." They reimbursed the Frasures for the cruise and expenses in Japan and the cruise line, along with the Japanese government, also picked up medical bills.
"We were very lucky in that aspect in that it didn't break us financially," Rebecca said.
A year after her positive test, Rebecca is now fully vaccinated. The Frasures are both high-risk, so Rebecca was especially relieved to get vaccinated. Kent hasn't had the shot yet. The couple has taken the pandemic seriously since the start and they rarely go out. They are just itching to go on a cruise again.
"It's just our vacation of choice. It's what we enjoy - the whole experience - and there's risk with anything," Rebecca said.
"We're kind of homebodies now and anxious to get out and travel when we're able to," Kent said.