‘I didn’t know if she was alive’: the Australian couple split apart as Covid-19 tore through their cruise ship

David Connell and his wife, Margaret, were separated for weeks in Italy after catching coronavirus on the Costa Luminosa. For days, David didn't know if his wife had survived

David Connell had to pack his wife Margaret's luggage quickly. She was sick, lying on the cabin's bed, conscious but barely.

Her knitting and a book were already in her bag, he threw in some essentials and put both their phones in his pocket for safekeeping. They were headed from their cruise ship to a hospital in Italy, which on 22 March was one of the countries most heavily infected by Covid-19.