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Glimpse of COVID-19 in Canada & Australia
View(s):The Sunday Times spoke to some Sri Lankan families living in different parts of the world to find out what is happening in those countries.
A 54-year-old woman who lives in a suburb of Toronto, Canada, said that they often use home testing kits to check their COVID-19 status and when she did so on December 27, she found that she was positive.
Home testing kit
Subsequently, her whole family – four members aged 54, 23, 22 and 16 years of age, except an 18-year-old became positive.
The woman was planning to go out for dinner but did the home testing as she was feeling very tired and having “a really bad headache”. It was as a precautionary measure that she tested herself.
The five positive members had isolated themselves for 10 days after the onset of symptoms. She said that she was very ill the first three days, after which there was a lack of appetite and also fatigue for about another 10 days.
With regard to their vaccination status, she said that all of them were vaccinated with two doses but only one had got the booster. The 18-year-old who escaped the infection had got the two doses but not the booster.
As many people are keen to get the booster, it has been “very hard” to get a time-slot. Appointments for the booster are not available in the province they live in, she said.
“Meanwhile, as case numbers are rising, RT-PCR tests are not easily available and there is a lack of home testing kits, the authorities in Canada are advising people to adhere to all public health recommendations as the variant that is infecting people could be Omicron,” the 54-year-old said.
On December 18, the authorities had curtailed the numbers in gymnasiums, bars and restaurants and later ordered a shutdown. There is no indoor dining at restaurants and food can only be ordered for pick-up or delivery. All hotels where weddings are due to be held and also places of worship have been ordered to limit the participants, while schools have been instructed to conduct online classes until January 17.
In a different part of the world, in Victoria, Australia, 20-year-old Shaakira Saldin tested positive on January 11 when she underwent a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) as she had a sore throat and high fever.
She felt she may have got COVID-19 as she had come into contact with her brother, who had later informed her that he had become positive.
Shaakira found that she, her 61-year-old father and 58-year-old mother were all positive. All are vaccinated but awaiting the booster.
She says that she had high fever, coughing, a sore throat, vomiting, body aches and shivers.
Referring to the rules of the Victorian authorities with regard to positive patients, she said that they have to isolate themselves for seven days or until the symptoms pass. Thereafter, a RAT is a must to see whether the infection has cleared.
The recovery was at home mainly with a lot of rest, fluid intake and paracetamol, says Shaakira, adding that she does not know whether it was Omicron, but since the symptoms were milder than Delta she believes it could be. All those who take time off work due to COVID-19 are compensated for that period by the authorities.
People are being urged to wear face-masks at all times when out of home and encouraging clubs and bars are being requested to reduce patron numbers.
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