POLOKWANE – Despite several countries closing their borders, the cancelling of events, the World Health Organization calling it a pandemic and the government enforcing a nationwide lockdown; some people are still not realising the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This, may be, because they perhaps do not know someone personally who has contracted the virus. When you finally put a face to the story, however, it becomes real.

With this in mind, Review spoke to a well-known Polokwane resident, Johan van den Heever.

“I have to say that before I was diagnosed with the Coronavirus, I was not scared of the virus at all. Do not get me wrong; I still wore my mask, sanitised my hands and took precautions when going out in public. Unfortunately as an attorney, I have contact with the public each day and therefore; I can also not determine when and where the virus was transmitted to me,” Van den Heever said.

He said he started to feel ill on Monday, 13 July.

“I was coughing a lot and had a bit of sinus and my chest felt compressed. I explained my symptoms to a doctor and was then referred to test for the virus. Later that afternoon I received the news that I was positive. I went home as I was feeling very drained and slept the entire afternoon,” he added.

Van den Heever said they are a family of five. “As we did not know who had already contracted the virus from me, we immediately isolated my wife as she has a kidney illness.”

As everyone had been in constant contact with Van den Heever, they scheduled testing for the entire family. On Tuesday morning his daughter showed similar symptoms, and they suspected she had contracted the virus.

“I felt very tired on Tuesday and had aches and pains everywhere and I tried to rest as much as possible. To my surprise, on Wednesday morning I hardly had any symptoms.”

Van den Heever’s son-in-law started to show symptoms on Wednesday and on Thursday the entire family was tested. Everyone, except for Van den Heever’s son, tested positive.

“Initially, my wife was in isolation in her room and we had to sit in the passage, three meters away from here, just to talk to her and enjoy Bible study together. Humans are made to have contact with each other and I missed being close to my wife,” he said.

Van den Heever’s daughter said they can now enjoy time with her mom again. “My mom hasn’t showed any symptoms and we are extremely grateful for that. My brother is mostly in his room and when he does come out, he wears a mask,” she added.

Van den Heever said people tend to take the smallest things for granted, like going to the shops, they had to ask a family member to drop-off groceries at the gate. “I thank God that symptoms were mild, if I hear about how sick other people are, I realise how blessed we are,” he added.

Van den Heever hopes his story will inspire others to take precautions. “For the people who are infected, know that there are people who have had the virus and recovered. Stay safe,” he concluded.