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A Covid-19 ‘Catch 22’ has sentenced a woman to stay in a moldy isolation room at Rotorua’s Ibis Hotel, even though she believes exposure to mold makes her sick and causes Covid-like symptoms .
New Zealand resident Laura Virkkala returned from Finland and immediately informed officials of her sensitivity to mold and asked her to spend her isolation period somewhere mold free.
“There would be a high risk of developing health problems,” he said.
“I was convinced the installation would be fine and I shouldn’t worry.”
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Three days after his stay, the problems began.
“I started waking up every night with sweat, a racing heartbeat, sore eyes, and a rash around my eyes. These are the typical symptoms I have when I am in a moldy building. “
Virkkala said she found it difficult to fall asleep, that she felt “cloudy” and unable to concentrate.
“Trying to work remotely full time from the isolation facility was no longer possible due to the toxic environment,” he said.
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Algae coming from the sprinkler head was a sign that there was almost certainly mold growth in the ceiling cavity, says one expert.
She believes the cause is damp in the bathroom, which also had mold on the ceiling.
She said she was moved to a new room at the Ibis after four days, but her symptoms persisted.
“I reported my symptoms daily to the nurses and one of them said that it could possibly be reacting to hydrogen sulfide as I was also chemically sensitive.”
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People with ‘weak positive’ tests may have had the coronavirus in their system since the first lockdown in March.
After seven days, Virkkala was moved to a third room, which also had mold in the bathroom.
“I kept waking up feeling like I had drunk a bottle of vodka the night before and was more tired in the morning than when I went to bed.”
At this point, she had submitted a waiver request to be relocated to a facility outside of Rotorua, and that’s when she found herself trapped in ‘catch-22’ after a nurse performed a checkup on her.
“Suddenly, the nurses concluded that I had developed the symptoms of Covid and ordered me to isolate myself in the toxic room for 48 hours. . . the only difference in my symptoms, compared to the previous days, was that my headache was worse than before. “
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Mold Inspections NZ General Manager Tim Dorrington said he couldn’t determine if a room wasn’t safe from photos alone, but would recommend testing.
In bitter irony, Virkkala was also told that her transfer request had been approved, “but they would not transfer me to Auckland now as I had developed symptoms of Covid.”
Stuff He showed the photos Virkkala sent of his room to Dr. Caroline Shorter, a senior researcher in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago.
She confirmed that exposure to mold can be harmful to a person’s health.
“We know that living in humid and moldy environments increases our susceptibility to respiratory viruses, so it is possible that it makes someone more susceptible to Sars-CoV-2 infection,” he said.
“Strong associations have been found for indoor mold and moisture exposure and adverse effects on respiratory health.”
Shorter also said that he believed the symptoms could be similar to Covid-19.
“If the symptoms were upper respiratory symptoms, I would say yes, it is possible, but not fever and increased heart rate.”
For Mold Inspections NZ General Manager Tim Dorrington, who was also shown the photos, the green algae seeping from the sprinkler head was the red flag.
“In these situations, there will almost certainly be mold growth in the cavity around the area that is wet,” he said.
He said the air test was the best way to determine if there were airborne spores in the room, and “I would certainly recommend an inspection of the tubing above the sprinkler head.”
When asked if he would stay in that room, he said “probably not”.
Stuff He also sent the photographs to the Ministry of Enterprise, Innovation and Employment, the Ministry in charge of the managed isolation facilities.
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Rooms at the Ibis Hotel in Rotorua “meet the Ministry of Health guidelines on health and wellness,” according to a quarantine and managed isolation spokesperson.
In an emailed statement, a spokesman for quarantine and managed isolation told Stuff that all of its facilities “comply with the Ministry of Health guidelines on health and wellness requirements.”
“Cleaning is done with hospital grade detergents and disinfectants to reduce the risk of potential transmission as much as possible,” they said.
They also confirmed that Virkkala had made a complaint about the condition of the room.
“After receiving the complaint, the person who returned was moved to a second room that was thoroughly cleaned before he moved in. The person who returned expressed concern about this room and was moved to a third room that has been re-cleaned.
“We recognize that controlled isolation can be difficult for some people. MIQ staff on-site are committed to helping returnees during their stay, and at all three Rotorua facilities, DHB nurses and wellness navigators are there to provide comprehensive support.
“The staff at this facility are doing everything they can to make this person’s time in managed isolation as comfortable as possible.”
Virkkala, who has already tested negative for Covid, said she was also concerned that others might be in a similar position to her.
“There must be several other people with sensitivities and allergies out there with no choice but to suffer.”
