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tiffer24 said:
An Ontario man who caused a WestJet flight to turn around and fly back to Toronto claims his intent was to create a viral video when he suggested on the plane that he may be sick with the new coronavirus.

"It certainly wasn't a smart thing to do," James Potok, 28, of Vaughan, Ont., north of Toronto, said on Tuesday.

Potok, who describes himself as a frequent flier and an upcoming hip hop R&B artist, apologized to 243 passengers aboard Flight 2702 to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

But Potok, who has been charged with mischief and breach of recognizance, claimed that he didn't actually say he had the coronavirus. Halfway into the flight, he said he pulled out his camera, stood up, then asked if he could get everybody's attention.

"I said: 'I just returned from a flight from Hunan province.' I might have said: 'This is the capital for coronavirus.' And then I said: 'I don't feel too well.' And I looked around. I saw the reception of the people. They didn't seem too happy about it. I don't blame them. And I stopped recording and I sat back down in my chair," Potok said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/coronavirus-claim-plane-westjet-flight-diverted-1.5452221
Click to expand...


They should have thrown him in quarantine with the rest of the passengers in one big locked room. Turn off the cameras.
 
tiffer24 said:
"I said: 'I just returned from a flight from Hunan province.' I might have said: 'This is the capital for coronavirus.' And then I said: 'I don't feel too well.' And I looked around. I saw the reception of the people. They didn't seem too happy about it. I don't blame them. And I stopped recording and I sat back down in my chair," Potok said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/coronavirus-claim-plane-westjet-flight-diverted-1.5452221
Click to expand...
Geography fail (to be fair, the average Canadian isn't familiar with Chinese provinces)

If he wanted to make stuff up, it would be smart to do research beforehand.

Hubei province is the capital for the Wuhan coronavirus. Wuhan is the capital and largest city of Hubei province (and where the namesake coronavirus originated in).

"Hu" means "lake." "Bei" means "north." "Nan" means south. Thus, Hubei means "north of the lake." Dongting Lake is the lake referred to. Likewise, Hunan means "south of the lake." Confusing Hubei and Hunan province are akin to confusing North Dakota with South Dakota. At least he's neither discussing the neighbouring Chinese provinces of Shanxi nor Shaanxi.
 
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IMO, this idiot likely sparked an over reaction by first the passengers and then the flight crew. Unless he pulled his stunt in front of the flight attendants someone had to complain to them. Then, the flight attendants, instead of telling him to sit down and be quiet, told the captain. The captain, Instead of sending his first officer down to question and reprimand him decides, like many a frustrated parent, he’s turning this van, um plane around.

Anyway.... if this idiot doesn’t have any money to pay the fines, he should have 90 days in jail, be alerted to US HLS and be banned from all commercial flights in North America for life. This idiot should never again be allowed on a passenger aircraft.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Man arrested for 'yelling that he had coronavirus' on a flight

Potok Philippe, real name James Potok, from Vaughan, was charged with mischief on Monday. Crew gave him a mask and gloves and told him to move to the back of the plane, pictured.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
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Admiral Beez said:
IMO, this idiot likely sparked an over reaction by first the passengers and then the flight crew. Unless he pulled his stunt in front of the flight attendants someone had to complain to them. Then, the flight attendants, instead of telling him to sit down and be quiet, told the captain. The captain, Instead of sending his first officer down to question and reprimand him decides, like many a frustrated parent, he’s turning this van, um plane around.

Anyway.... if this idiot doesn’t have any money to pay the fines, he should have 90 days in jail, be alerted to US HLS and be banned from all commercial flights in North America for life. This idiot should never again be allowed on a passenger aircraft.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Man arrested for 'yelling that he had coronavirus' on a flight

Potok Philippe, real name James Potok, from Vaughan, was charged with mischief on Monday. Crew gave him a mask and gloves and told him to move to the back of the plane, pictured.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
Click to expand...
Basically, it was the same as announcing that you have a bomb or a gun on board. The person on board was threatening the entire plane with a virus that has been responsible for quite a number of deaths.

The flight crew can assume it's a hoax, but society has deemed this action to be quite serious due to the vulnerable nature of flying - and flight crew have been trained to exercise an abundance of caution.
 
Richard White said:
They should have thrown him in quarantine with the rest of the passengers in one big locked room. Turn off the cameras.
Click to expand...

Nah, send him to the nCoV wards. Sans face mask. On the other hand, your suggestion has merit too - but forget about turning off the camera - that's one viral video (double pun there) I'd pay to watch.

AoD
 
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We as a country should be way more harsh on such people rather than seem them as victims or mental patients.

This person negatively impacted 100s of peoples.
 
Scary! Cruise ships are especially powerful incubators for illnesses.

A cruise ship carrying 251 Canadians has been quarantined off the coast of Japan following a confirmed outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Ten people have tested positive for the virus, but none are Canadian, said a statement from Princess Cruises on Wednesday. The ship is carrying 2,666 guests and 1,045 crew.
Click to expand...
www.ctvnews.ca

251 Canadians aboard cruise ship quarantined after coronavirus outbreak

A cruise ship carrying 251 Canadians has been quarantined off the coast of Japan following a confirmed outbreak of the new coronavirus.
www.ctvnews.ca
 
Jasmine18 said:
We as a country should be way more harsh on such people rather than seem them as victims or mental patients.

This person negatively impacted 100s of peoples.
Click to expand...

Please, we live in an era where personal responsibility no longer exists. People's poor choices and actions are always the fault of someone or something else.
 
A cruise operator says 251 Canadians are aboard a ship that is quarantined off the coast of Japan because of an outbreak of coronavirus, and that two of them have tested positive.

Princess Cruises confirmed the passenger count on the Diamond Princess in an email to CBC News on Tuesday night.

It said 20 people in total, including the two Canadians, have tested positive for the coronavirus and have been taken ashore to hospital. It was not immediately clear is those cases had been confirmed by a second test.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadians-coronavirus-cruise-ship-japan-1.5452345
 
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