Western Quebec couple who beat coronavirus back in Canada

Diane and Bernard Mnard, whose Asian cruise ended in a serious health scare in a Japanese militaryhospital, returned to Ottawa Tuesday night.

The couple from Cantley, Que., north of Gatineau, were among the more than 700 people who contracted COVID-19 aboard the Diamond Princess cruise shipoff the coast of Japan.

The 75-year-oldstested positive for the respiratory illness in mid-February after expressing concern about the precautions on the ship. They werethen placed in separate isolated chambers andallowed to communicate by walkie-talkie.

BernardMnardtested negative for the illness last Wednesday, while his wife was cleared Saturday.

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"There are no words to describe our joy," said their daughter,Chantal Mnard, in a Facebook post showing their arrival at the Ottawa International Airport.

The family declined an interview on Wednesday.

Other passengers from the cruise are poised to finish a 14-day quarantine at the Nav Centre in Cornwall, Ont., on Friday.