A Kelowna, B.C., mother is urging residents and visitors to the tourism hot spot to take the coronavirus pandemic more seriously as she continues to experience health complications after contracting the virus.
Eden Standing says doctors believe she acquired COVID-19 from her two young children, aged two and four, after they fell ill following attendance at a local playgroup in early March.
The 32-year-old, who is a stay-at-home mother and freelance artist, says her son and daughter experienced fevers and coughing but recovered from the virus within two weeks.
Standing got sick days after her children did and she was admitted to Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) for a myriad of tests in early April.
Standing says while she did not qualify for a formal COVID-19 test at the time, physicians provided the medical diagnoses as she had all the signs and symptoms of the coronavirus.
In March, testing was reserved for healthcare workers, residents of long term care facilities, returning travellers or those who were part of an investigation into a cluster or outbreak.
More information on the phases of COVID-19 testing in B.C. can be found here.
The mother of two was sent home under the COVID-19 outpatient program and her whole family was placed under quarantine, she said.
Public health nurses contacted her every three to five days to assess her symptoms.
“I’ve had insane rashes that are bizarre,” she added.
Standing tested negative for the virus in May but says she has not fully recovered. In early July, she was diagnosed with post-viral syndrome.
The previously active young mother says the virus has turned her life upside down for the past five months.
“I can’t go outside very often because I get migraines from light sensitivity. I can’t play with my children which means that I can’t really be a good mom. I can’t keep my house clean. I can’t be part of my family and still make money on the side doing my art because I don’t have the energy to go everything,” she said.
Standing is urging local residents and visitors to the Okanagan to take safety guidelines seriously, including physical distancing, wearing a mask in enclosed spaces, practicing good hygiene, and avoiding unnecessary travel as the province reopens under phase 3.
“More restrictions are better because there are always going to be people who break those restrictions. I do think an indoor mask policy is essential. I myself have scarred lungs and I can wear a mask in public, I can breathe just fine,” she said.
“It’s just common sense and common decency.”
Standing says she is disheartened that travellers to the region, who attended two private house parties in Kelowna, are believed to have caused a recent outbreak in the downtown waterfront district.
At least 13 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 connected to the Kelowna cluster of cases between June 25 and July 6.
“My immediate thought was that you can’t fix stupid and that the people that are doing this in my community, they are making this place that I love unlivable for me,” she said.
“The more people that come in and act irresponsibly, the less safe I feel to go out in my community. I feel thrown under the bus by people who are willing to do that.”
Standing says she’s speaking out to raise awareness of the long-term health complications that can come with a COVID-19 diagnosis and the uncertainty it can cause in your life.
“Watching people risk their lives and the lives of others so they can go and spit beach water at each other and do really frivolous stuff… if they understood how badly this could affect them, it blows my mind.”
In announcing the latest COVID-19 statistics on Wednesday, provincial health officials said there were 21 new cases of the virus throughout B.C., including four in the Southern Interior.
That pushed the number of Interior Health cases — since the pandemic began — to 216, up from 209 on Monday and 202 last Friday.
According to the B.C. Centre of Disease Control statistics, of those 216, two died and 199 have recovered, which translates into 15 active cases.