This week Gulf News spoke with two Waihekians affected by Omicron. Both have suffered from symptoms and recovered, but are diametrically opposed in their view of the seriousness of the pandemic that has changed the world.
A self-employed business owner, who asked that his name be withheld became symptomatic on 11 February after attending a party with 14 friends who had rented an Airbnb on Waiheke for the weekend.
A rapid antigen test (RAT) confirmed he was positive for Covid, and he had results in a matter of minutes, in contrast to his employees who had PCR tests and had to wait up to six days for results.
The business owner is unvaccinated and has strong opinions on mask mandates and other Covid measures, despite admitting the infection was “pretty catastrophic”.
“It was like being hit by a train for the first few days,” he says. “I had one night of agony, and I was feeling weak before I started getting incrementally better”.
In terms of symptoms, he says he had some “body and head-aches”, which culminated in him being “pretty much paralysed in bed at one point”.
His business continuity was tested after spending ten days at home in isolation. He says his close work contacts “weren’t allowed to work with me. Six guys got tested and are now all back at work”. • Jim Birchall
Full Story in this week’s Gulf News…. Out Now!!!
