A mum from Leeds has described the moment her son was escorted through Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) by medics in hazmat suits after he starting coughing up blood following a school trip to Italy.
James Waddington, 15, visited Sappada in northern Italy on a ski trip with Bishop Young Church of England Academy, Seacroft, last week and returned to Leeds late on Saturday, February 22.
"He had sent me a message on Friday afternoon telling me he had backache," his mum Lenita Bohnmark, 44, told LeedsLive .
"James then sent me a message on Saturday morning saying he felt feverish and he was sweating. His skin even hurt when he touched it.
"I knew he wasn't well then."
When James eventually arrived home, he asked his mum to turn the heating off in the the car - despite the freezing cold temperatures outside.
By the time James woke up on Sunday morning, news had emerged that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy had surged from three on Friday morning to more than 130.
Lenita said: "I rang 111 as I'd seen the news about coronavirus. I told them about my son's symptoms and where he had been."
'I was horrified when James told me that he had coughed up blood'
By Tuesday, James started coughing up blood and his temperature had soared to 37.8°C.
"I was absolutely and utterly horrified when James told me that he had coughed up blood," said Lenita.
"When he showed me I was straight on phone to the 111. It was streaks of blood in his phlegm, but also dark red lumps."
Following another call to 111, Lenita was told that she should take her son to LGI for tests and they arrived shortly before 9pm on Tuesday.
'I got the feeling we were in the film ET'
Two nurses in full protective clothing were waiting as they arrived.
"I got the feeling we were in the film ET," she said.
"One of the nurses came in a full hazardous suit with a face mask and a visor infront of her face. They opened the car door where my son was sat and gave us both masks to wear.
"Then we were escorted into the A&E department. Outside the entrance was a guard to keep the way clear for us.
"Inside they had put up a shield infront of the waiting room area and made a path for us into a separated closed-off unit. The door was shut behind us and we were asked to sit on the bed and chair in the room."
The nurses took two swabs from James - one inside his nose and another at the back of his throat.
A doctor then called Lenita while she was sat with her son.
"He said to my son that he either had a chest infection or coronavirus."
The doctor told Lenita that the entire family should self-isolate themselves immediately and await the results of the test.
They were initially told that they would get the results within 24 hours - but they were all still waiting for further information by Friday morning, more than 48 hours later.
"We were closed off to the outside world," said Lenita,
"It's been so stressful to know that my son potentially had the virus.
"It was very frustrating for us all. Especially since my partner and older son were losing income due to the isolation.
"My partner's and son's workplaces were calling up and wanting to know what was going on."
At midday today (Friday), Lenita received the call that the whole family had been hoping for - the test results confirmed that James does not have coronavirus.
"We are so happy now that we know the test is negative!" said Lenita.
"We can carry on with our lives as normal now.
"I do feel for anyone who has contracted the virus and my thoughts are with them. I hope that they will have a speedy recovery.
"And also to everyone who is still waiting for the results. I hope they will get the negative result through too."
