A couple who both caught the virus were back at home in Galway last night after a nightmare 18 days.
Declan Connolly and his wife Debbie from Kinvara contracted Covid-19 on an Italian ski trip.
And before they began to show symptoms they had passed the virus to two friends back in Ireland.
While Declan suffered only moderate symptoms, Debbie became very seriously ill.
“Debbie was very sick. She had a much rougher time than I did. She developed viral pneumonia, it was very serious. Her breathing was very badly affected,” Declan said.
The couple are both in their 50s with no underlying conditions and both are physically fit and active.
But the virus hit them both differently, Declan told RTE’s Sean O’Rourke.
“I am virtually fine at this stage. I spent a week in isolation unit. Debbie was still in hospital after 18 days,” he said.
The couple were home from their Italian holiday for a couple of days when they found out one of their friends on the trip had coronavirus.
They self-isolated immediately and three days later on March 6th Debbie began to feel unwell.
The following day Declan also developed a fever.
The two friends who they infected suffered only mild to moderate symptoms and are now well.
“The hospital staff are fabulous but it is not a very nice place to be. Once you’re there, you’re really in isolation. All you’re seeing are their eyes behind their goggles.”
“Every time a doctor or nurse comes in to assess you there is a huge amount of work involved so a lot of the consultation takes place over the phone, when they’re standing outside your room.”
He said Debbie “hadn’t seen a human face in 18 days”
Within minutes of finishing the interview, he received a call from University College Hospital in Galway to give him the good news that Debbie had beaten the virus and was being discharged.
