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First person – The virus is gone. Or was it? What was happening?
Tom Kitchin was in isolation at home after his Covid-19 test came back a weak positive and he was informed that he was not infectious.
Photo: RNZ / Tom Kitchin
These were some of the questions that crossed my mind when a new Covid-19 test I took came back positive.
I had the virus months ago; I spent about 40 days in isolation from March to May this year, including a week in a quarantined hotel where I couldn’t get out of my room.
My case was relatively mild: I was ill in bed with a bad cough, a mild fever and a headache, and I did not need hospital care.
But for the past week, the fear that Covid-19 will return, completely unexpected.
A few days ago, I felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me. I also had a mild sore throat, something I had had in the last days of my first round of the virus.
There is a lot of talk about Covid-19 long distance carriers, the ones whose symptoms keep reappearing, but I hadn’t experienced any persistent symptoms or problems since my recovery, I felt like I was back in good health.
So it was strange that these minor symptoms returned.
That day I was working alone in my office, so I ran home and went to bed.
Then I had to figure out what to do next – should I get tested for Covid-19 again? This would be my fourth swab.
After a few hours of deliberation, I called the doctor for advice.
They recommended taking another swab just for surveillance, this was not a likely case.
The next day, I was going to get a fourth swab.
Now I’m quite used to them: they stick it up their nose, leave it there for about 10 seconds, while you wince when the discomfort starts.
The next part was difficult: I waited 72 hours for the results to come back. I waited, looking at my phone for an answer while trapped inside my house. Patience was wearing thin.
But the next part was only more difficult.
I saw a number appear on my phone, finally my GP had the results!
But the district health board’s public health team was on the line. My first thought was ‘what?’ These guys only call if they test positive. My hands were shaking with fear.
One of them spoke.
“This may come as a shock to you, but the test result is a weak positive.”
‘Than?’ As I told Morning Report yes, I was surprised. I put down the phone for half a minute to catch my breath and thoughts.
“Do you want us to call again?” asked the staff.
“No, no, I’m fine, just tell me what you need,” I replied.
They said they had to take precautions.
Was I contagious? I was safe? Nothing was certain.
They gathered the details of my close contacts for the last 48 hours, called and asked them to take a test and isolate themselves.
In less than an hour, the nurses came to my house to get two swabs: another Covid swab and a respiratory disease swab.
They took the respiratory disease swab so the experts can identify if there are any other issues that could have caused the tiny Covid-19 particles in my system.
As Chief Health Officer Dr Ashley Bloomfield told RNZ, scientists believe that the presence of Covid-19 like this can be detected when another respiratory infection appears. There could be inflammation in the throat and cells are breaking down, causing fragments of Covid-19 to appear.
This does not mean that it is contagious.
The next morning, much was unknown: would the swab test positive? Would my contacts have it?
I got a call and a wave of relief hit me.
They told me that my second swab was negative and a remnant of the old infection.
But to make sure I still had to prepare for the upcoming news, would my close contacts test positive?
During the day, I heard that everyone tested negative. Luckily, they didn’t have to wait three days, just a few hours.
It was such a relief. Crisis averted. I was not contagious. It could come out of isolation.
I feel fine now, but another mild illness may have forced the remnants to return.
At the time of writing this article, I am still awaiting the results of the respiratory disease swab.
I’d like to thank the public health team – they were extremely helpful, kind, and incredibly fast once I had my first result.
There is still a lot to learn about this virus.
Although we are back to level 1, I will continue to use the NZ Covid Tracer app wherever I go and continue to take precautions.
Please, as I have learned from my experience, if you feel bad, seek proof. It may have to wait a few days, but the more we can learn about this virus for everyone, the better. It has been complicated.
