Terry Bialkowski is still taking every precaution, washing hands frequently and using hand sanitizer to stop the spread of COVID-19, after seeing personally how quickly it can spread.
“It’s been quite an adventure,” said Duncan resident Terry Bialkowski.
The 68-year old retiree and his wife were aboard the Grand Princess cruise that had to make an emergency return to San Francisco with a Covid-19 outbreak aboard in March.
The couple and fellow Canadians onboard were then went into quarantine at CFB Trenton.
That’s where Biakowski also tested positive for COVID-19, though it never amounted to more than a cough for him. He has since recovered.
“I only had a little cough in my throat and it never got any worse,” he said.
Bialkowski is now back home in Duncan. There’s one big thing still in limbo from his whirlwind trip.
“I want my car back,” said Bialkowski.
He is now driving a rental car, since he was forced to return home to Duncan by plane on March 29 instead of retrieving his vehicle that he’d driven down to board the cruise.
The first week of rental service was covered by Princess Cruise line, but the bills are growing fast, with the border shutdown another 30 days at least.
“Right now it’s over $400 every two weeks,” Bialkowsky said.
MP for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford Alistair MacGregor has made inquiries on Bialkowski’s behalf but has been told that American officials will not make an exception in this case.
Skye Ryan
