Each day, Nova Scotia reports dozens of new COVID-19 cases, with the active total now surpassing 1,000, the highest it’s been in the province.
Global News Morning host Paul Brothers, his wife, daughter and son are now some of the faces behind these numbers.
Brothers shared his story with Global News Morning on Wednesday, via zoom, while self-isolating at his home in Bedford, N.S.
“It’s really been a challenging time for our family. It’s something we will never forget and it’s something we hope that no other family has to go through,” Brothers said.
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He said his symptoms and that of his family are changing every day, and that includes loss of taste, pain around the eyes, sore throats, coughs and feverish chills.
“Yesterday, I put up a toilet paper roll holder in the bathroom, and then I had to lie down for two hours because of the fatigue,” Brothers said Wednesday.
“If you think that this is just a common cold, think again, because it really wiped out our family for the last week and a half,” he added.
He said it all started with a call on April 23 from his daughter’s daycare saying that a teacher had tested positive for COVID-19.
“At that time, it was not mandatory to wear masks in daycares — which looking back on it, you shake your fists — but at least it is mandatory now,” Brothers said.
The daycare also told him that his two-year-old daughter needed to be isolated, wear a mask and start getting tested.
“It’s really impossible to isolate a two-year-old. And so that just started the domino effect and an 80-hour wait to find out that yes, indeed, she had COVID.”
As his daughter started experiencing symptoms, the whole family started to experience them, too.
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“We’re thanking our lucky stars every day that we have not had to go to the hospital, and thoughts and prayers to all those in the hospital and in the ICU from us,” Brothers said.
As of Tuesday, Nova Scotia reported there are 37 people in hospital, including eight in ICU.
Despite the challenges, the family is feeling the kindness and support of family, friends and neighbours.
“(They) have been dropping things off to our front step. And that’s what we look forward to the most every day, is what’s coming to the front step,” Brothers said.
“It’s going to spoil our kids forever now, but it’s keeping us all in good spirits. We’ve got lots of great food from the neighbours, lots of great Lego toys and donations of dolls,” he added.
Brothers is hoping that by Monday, he’ll be able to go back to work and host from home.
In the meantime, he hopes that people will take the virus more seriously and follow public health orders.
“As my Dad always said, you can’t have a good story without a little bit of adversity, so we’ll get through this adversity as a family and we’ll get through it as a province. And let’s have a great summer. Nova Scotia, come up. I know we can do it.”