Finding out you have contracted Covid-19 is probably one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had.
Having enjoyed the last week of the semester being out a few times in the student’s union with my friends and spending more time with my boyfriend Will, I was much more focused on going home for Christmas than worrying about being at risk.
In hindsight, it was probably careless to have been out, but in the campus environment we never heard much about the growing threat of Omicron, and the news wasn’t something I’d followed too closely.
I’d never even been close to catching it during the large pandemic and being double vaccinated it gives a false sense of security that the risk is minimal.
Like many others I’d not had many symptoms, other than a cough I presumed was part of a cold that was going around my flat share who tested negative.
With it being so mild, you don’t expect it to be the deadly pandemic virus, but multiple lateral flows and a PCR later confirmed I’d been infected.
Many people may say that the side effects and the risks of poor health are the biggest effects of having Coronavirus, but I never really suffered at all apart from some brief lethargy, an occasional light headache and one day of a few stomach pains.
The biggest issue for me and possibly many others more than flu like symptoms was mentally. The situation of being trapped inside was very difficult, and even then, I was lucky considering I’d had symptoms within 5 days of my test and therefore had only 5 further days to isolate.
But being unable to go to the final sports team and university social events of the year, missing my last date with the guy I’m totally crazy about and knowing I couldn’t socialise with him or anyone for over a month as they’d all have gone home for Christmas really made isolation unbearable, stressful, and even lonelier than it already felt.
Considering how inconsequential my struggles were compared to the vast majority of the population who may face serious financial or personal detriment due to the need to isolate for 10 days, the effect that Covid-19 has both medically and psychologically makes the sacrifice of following restrictions feel more than worth the inconvenience.
Photo Credit: Fusion Medical
