|  Cameron Kirker of Salisbury, the quarantine in Hong Kong due to the swine flu, was on a business travel / vacation trip with his partner, Peter Cannon of Columbia, SC
Kirker wife Carol, meanwhile, sits at home and hoping the phone rings.
"They're fine. Everyone's been very nice. They just don't know when they can come home" Carol said by phone Tuesday morning.
It starts at the beginning.
"They weren't even in the hotel the same time as the guy with the flu," she says, referring to Metropark Hotel in Hong Kong. A Mexican traveler there was confirmed to have H1N1.
"I think they're being extra cautious because of all the problems they've had, with SARS and the bird flu."
Still, her husband has been through something like a fire test.
Cameron and Pete in another hotel, but without their cases. "Then they tried to go ahead with their plans, but the Chinese police noticed they had been at the hotel," Carol says.
Chinese authorities have in the ambulance to a hospital to be checked. "They were in full gowns, gloves, masks ... They have no symptoms and have been well, but they were whisked off to a containment camp. ... It's a nice place, a place for children, it has a pool."
But Carol, a nurse, is concerned, they could become ill if they are under quarantine with other people who have been suspended. "But it's been 48 hours. After that you should be in the clear if you weren't exposed."
It was said that they could to leave after a week and this week should be completed by Saturday.
Carol says Cameron reports from the staff was very friendly and try their best. "She tried the American kitchen," she laughs, in relation to a photograph taken on the Wall Street Journal's blog site.
It is alleged spaghetti and meatballs, but it is very orange and there is a raw hot dog on the side.
The American Consulate in Hong Kong was able to Cameron's and Pete's luggage to them, and that helped.
They seem to hold good.
"Every time I call they're laughing. They're making friends. ... Some people don't know English, others are from Europe and Canada.
Carol understands the fear of Chinese officials.
"Because of SARS, the bird flu; their population is packed, they have to be diligent, but now I think they need to review the information about communicable diseases."
The Kirkers have lived in Salisbury about five years, but Cameron has really just started traveling. He's been to Siberia, Europe, Belize, Canada. "He loves to travel. He says, 'I'm a Viking, I like to travel.' "
You only need to be careful, go abroad, says Carol. "This should all pass in a few months."
But now, they sit and wait and depend on each call. Her grown daughters live two in Colombia and Nashville, and they are anxious, too.
Carol does not know who to ask on the spot on the next step. "I'm not complaining, I just think it's gone a little too far. I don't want to ruffle their feathers too much.
"I just want to get my husband home."
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