LONDON – From resounding applause to ostracization and isolation. That's essentially the journey Lt. Cmdr. Robert Embleton, who served 34 years in Britain's Royal Navy, took by ambulance when discharged from Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, southwestern England, on April 8 following his near-month sickness with COVID-19.
Arriving at his retirement home, he immediately went into self-isolation with his wife of 55 years, Jean, who has shown no symptoms of the virus.
Soon after, Embleton realized he was carrying some new baggage — the stigma of the virus. He even considered buying a bell to warn of his presence. “I was regarded as a sort of leper, a plague carrier.