The Covid 19 infected father-of-two spoke to The Witness.
“I believe I am on the road to recovery and I feel much better than a few days ago. I keep myself in isolation until I get the sign that everything is okay. I believe the worst is over and I’m going to make it. ”
The man, who asked not to be named, his wife and eight friends returned from a skiing holiday in Livigno, northern Italy, on Sunday, March 1. They flew from King Shaka Airport to Dubai on February 21 and from there to Zurich, where they went to the ski resort. They returned to Durban by the same route.
He says he can’t say exactly when or how he got infected, but he suspects it may have been on his way to or from Livigno. The man says the other members of the group are in the meantime quarantined and being tested. This includes his own wife and children.
“On Sunday night I started to feel a bit different with the usual flu symptoms. It got much worse on Monday. I went to see a doctor here in Hilton on Tuesday morning. She was quite vigilant and said because I was in a highly contaminated area (in Italy) and traveled, I had to have a swab test. I had it done by noon on Tuesday and I was told I should get the result within 48 hours. The pathology lab’s staff were wonderful and it felt like I was in a biohazard facility because the staff wore protective clothing and the environment was also protected.
“We decided that I should be isolated from the rest of my family. I’m glad we did. My wife and sons have not shown any symptoms yet. There is only a very small chance that my boys could catch on as they have not had much contact with me since I arrived. They were at school on Monday and Tuesday and we will discuss the issue with the school. It (Covid-19) is a virus and there is no cure for it, just treatable symptoms. But, hold on, I’ve been feeling much better since Wednesday afternoon and today (Thursday) was good.
The Cowan House Preparatory School in Hilton, where the man’s children are attending school, confirmed in a letter to parents that the school would be closed on Thursday and that the weekend’s extracurricular activities were canceled.
Other schools in Pietermaritzburg and Hilton have issued statements calling for calm and that appropriate measures will be applied at the schools.
Source: The Witness