SHARES If you think you might have COVID symptoms, don’t ignore them, advises Gurleen Kaur, who caught the virus last year. But working two jobs without sick days, she couldn’t help but be delayed in getting tested.
Photo by Christopher Cheung.
Long before her area in Surrey was announced as a virus hotspot, Gurleen Kaur caught COVID-19. She was 21 last summer, working two full-time jobs as a security guard, up to 70 hours a week, with shifts ending as late as 2 a.m.
“I was happy to be making more money,” she said, “but I’d only go to work and straight to home nothing else.”
Many patients also recover in hospital long after their infectious classification as a COVID-19 patient has ended.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said the cancelled surgeries will ease pressure on hospital staff.
“This will ensure they have the resources necessary to care for patients,” he said. “The reason we’re taking these steps now is to support our health-care workers.”
The province also asked health-care workers in the community trained in critical and intensive care to volunteer to work in hospitals.
The news is “disappointing” for those whose surgeries have been postponed, Dix said, noting they will not be forgotten and that surgeries will be rescheduled as soon as possible.