'I was wrong': Saskatoon man with COVID-19 offers up Easter warning

A Saskatoon man who has been trapped in his bedroom for 16 days while he recovers from COVID-19 is urging people to stay at home this Easter and learn from his own failed "gamble" three weeks ago.

Kyle Gunderson, 34, regrets that he didn't listen to the inner-voice that was nagging him in mid-March not to play in a curling bonspiel, where he believes he became infected with the virus.

Gunderson, who spends most of his day sleeping or coughing, said he's offering up his own humbling experience to people as a cautionary tale.

"It feels a little hypocritical to say 'stay home' considering that I got it from not staying home...[but] I want them to learn from what I did," he said.

Gunderson is worried that people are becoming complacent or "stir crazy" from being stuck at home and will be tempted to ignore warnings from public health officials to stay at home this Easter long weekend.

"If you think, 'Well, it's just one dinner, let's do Easter together, just a couple of us' — Stop!" said Gunderson. "Do it digitally, delay it until after, just don't."

In Saskatchewan, a public health order prohibits indoor and outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people, except where people can maintain physical distancing of two metres, but the provincial government is recommending that people restrict Easter gatherings to only people living in the same home.

Some online comments posted on CBC news stories, such as one that said "Some traditions like Easter are sacred," suggest some people are reluctant to cancel their annual celebrations.

"I made a calculated risk"

Gunderson, a project developer for a Saskatoon software firm, said he's been sleeping 14 hours a day, with a persistent cough, headache, fever and no appetite or energy. He's isolated from his partner, who leaves food at the bedroom door.

Gunderson believes he contracted the virus when he took part in a curling bonspiel in Saskatoon from March 13 to March 15.

At that time, there were two presumptive cases of COVID-19 in the province and several events had already been cancelled, including the Junos in Saskatoon that same weekend.

"There was a lot of internal thought about it, of like, 'Maybe I shouldn't go,'" Gunderson said.

However, public gatherings of fewer than 250 people were still allowed and most restrictive measures weren't in place yet.

Gunderson felt comforted by precautions at the bonspiel: curlers would disinfect the stones, didn't shake hands and kept their distance from each other.

"I made a calculated risk. I got COVID," Gunderson said. "Looking back on it, what we know now ... how quickly it spreads, how many people are affected, how serious it can be, and how widespread it is in Canada now, there's no way that I would make that decision now."

An opportunity to save lives

Dr. Tania Diener from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) issued a plea on Thursday for people to cancel large Easter dinners and egg hunts with multiple families, and to only "visit within the household."

She urged people to wash their hands frequently and be careful how they cough and sneeze. She recommended just one person in each household doing the grocery shopping, and said everyone should practise physical distancing and use hand sanitizer.

"It's not often that we get the opportunity to save lives," Diener said. "But really, it's in all of our hands to save lives. The more we do, the faster we do it, the more we can flatten that curve, and the more we can save lives."

On Wednesday, the SHA revealed that it's planning for approximately 3,000 to 8,300 deaths and a peak of approximately 20 to 200 daily intensive care admissions from COVID-19. It didn't predict when that peak might hit.

"If there's one message for everyone this Easter, it's to stay home and visit within the households," the doctor urged.

Mild symptoms 

A long period of mild symptoms is part of the reason Gunderson is going public with his story.

After unknowingly contracting the virus, Gunderson had a mild cough for more than a week. He simply attributed it to allergies. He feels relieved that he was working from home and limiting his public outings.

Ten days after the curling bonspiel, he got a phone call from public health officials to inform him that he'd come into contact with someone who tested positive.

He went for a test, which turned out positive, then got slammed by the sickness.

"This isn't just the flu," he warned.

"Don't go out. Don't interact with people. Don't go visit your family over Easter. I know everybody wants to see their family, I know people miss their friends," Gunderson said. "It's not worth risking it, of spreading it to your family or loved ones when you don't know if you have it."

A public health worker checks up on Gunderson every day. He's been told to stay in isolation until he's gone 48 hours without symptoms. 

He's hoping he'll finally be able to leave his bedroom over the Easter weekend.