Florida Man Stuck In Ship For 62 Days After Testing Positive For COVID-19

A man from Florida said he has been stuck in two different ships in an Italian port for 62 days after he tested positive for COVID-19 in April.

Taylor Grimes, 28, said, in an interview with CNN, that officials at the Genoa port, where he arrived aboard the MSC Cruises, would not let him off the ship. He was, instead, transferred to another ship that was converted into a hospital.

Grimes worked in the jewelry shop inside the cruise ship, which set sail from Italy and was heading for the Mediterranean when the fatal virus started spreading all over the world. About the same time, a colleague has tested positive for the coronavirus, and Grimes said he self-isolated upon the advice of the captain and the ship doctor.

Two weeks later, Grimes also tested positive for COVID-19 and has taken eight tests so far, with different results.

"His test results have been positive, positive, negative, positive, negative, positive," his mother, Ann Grimes, said.

Ann told CNN she and her family were very concerned about her son's mental health. When she last spoke to him, Grimes was sobbing on the phone because he wanted to go home but had, once again, tested positive.

The Grimes family was informed by the United States Embassy that Italy has a policy not to release cruise ship workers unless they test negative two times in a row. Meanwhile, the 200 workers of the cruise ship were asked to remain on board while the passengers were allowed to disembark on March 9 and 10 in Italy.

"We don't question that that's the standard. It's the fact the testing is so sketchy," Ann said. "How can you be in quarantine for 62 consecutive days and still be testing positive?"

Grimes' father, Tom, on the other hand, said his son didn't have any physical symptoms.

"But mentally he’s on a never-ending roller coaster ride,” Tom stated.

His son is, currently, staying at a small crew cabin at the hospital ship, among other COVID-19 patients who do not require actual hospitalization. However, Grimes is looking forward to coming home to Florida via a commercial flight if he's finally given the clearance.