A MARRIED couple who tested positive for coronavirus has claimed a ‘setup’ after being taken to a hostel rather than a hospital.

David Abel said in a Facebook post yesterday that he was smelling a ‘very big rat’.

Mr Abel and his wife Sally, from near Banbury, have been giving regular updates from cruise ship, the Diamond Princess.

The ship has been off Japan since February 3 after a passenger who got off in Hong Kong tested positive for the deadly virus.

See also: Pilot suffers eye burn after laser attack

In a later post, the couple announced they will not be continuing their live feeds from the ship, and they would be giving no more interviews.

The couple are due to move to a hostel for up to five days until they can be transferred to a hospital for treatment.

The couple confirmed yesterday they had tested positive for the virus.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast yesterday morning, their son Steve said: “They are not getting any communication from our country, so they are in the dark and feeling very unloved.”

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said it is ‘working to organise’ a flight back to the UK for British nationals on board the cruise ship.