Frank King broke quarantine

A stand-up comedian risked bringing the Covid-19 coronavirus into the US because he didn’t want to cancel a gig.

Frank King broke quarantine in Cambodia, dodging security at the hotel he was holed up in, to fly back home to Oregon.

He had been performing on a cruise ship where a former passenger had tested positive for the virus. The ship, the M/S Westerdam, had been denied entry in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Guam and Thailand before finally being allowed to dock in Cambodia.

Some passengers had been put up in a five-star hotel in Phnom Penh, where they were tested for the coronavirus.

But King got impatient waiting for his results, and because he didn’t want to miss a speaking engagement, slipped out and caught a flight back to the US.

The comic told Komo News: 'There was no official "you can't leave" but if you tried to go out the front door with your luggage, security would stop you.’ 

But he snuck out the back door and although he was stopped, he refused to co-operate with the guard and just walked on.

King said he had an engagement on February 20, that was his ‘pay cheque… so I thought "I’m out of here".’

The comic added that because he spoke on suicide prevention, his appearance could be the difference between life and death.

He said the results of his virus test  still weren't back, but assumed he must be OK as he hasn’t shown any symptoms.

However, a report published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that two people with no symptoms were nonetheless infected with Covid-19 – a finding which would make the job of containing the outbreak significantly more difficult.

During his enforced time at sea, King – who goes by the name The Mental Health Comedian – shared some of the jokes about his situation  he came up with on social media.

He called the ship the Glove Boat, as opposed to the Love Boat, and ‘the world’s 1st Flu’s Cruise’ and wrote: ‘My wife "Bring home a 12 pack of Corona," me "No worries, bringing home a case, got it from Glove Boat’s bartender, I-sick.’

Published: 19 Feb 2020