Toby Young Toby Young

I’m recovering – but I glimpsed the coronavirus cliff edge

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So I’ve had the virus. Or rather, I think I have. Ordinary mortals can no longer get tested by the NHS unless they’re admitted to hospital and I was nowhere near that point. I self-diagnosed, based on having some of the symptoms, and took to my bed. Needless to say, Caroline is convinced the whole thing was a sham to avoid doing the housework, which has increased exponentially during lockdown thanks to four kids and no cleaner. Now that I’m out of bed she’s exacting sweet revenge.

I first developed a temperature on Tuesday 24 March, along with chills, a headache, a blocked-up nose and fatigue. A tickle at the back of my throat, but no persistent dry cough, so perhaps it was just seasonal influenza. Against that, I haven’t had flu since 1987, which was the last time I had a fever of any kind. On the health front, I’m an extreme outlier, having never had a serious illness. The only time I’ve spent the night in hospital is when I was knocked off my bike by a hit-and-run driver and had to have 50 stitches in my face. I can go for years without even having a cold, and I’ve never pulled a sickie. So the chances of it being common-or–garden flu are quite slim.

I had a strong sensation of my body being invaded by a parasite which was sapping my strength

One other thing: exactly eight days earlier I had been to Charing Cross Hospital for a bowel screening. Just a routine check-up because I’m 56, and the results, when I got them back, were all fine. But that’s within the range of the incubation period for Covid-19 and there’s some evidence that hospitals are acting as hubs for viral transmission. That’s the theory doing the rounds in Italy to explain why Veneto has suffered a fraction of the deaths that Lombardy has.

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