A former resident from the Herschel area is in self-isolation following a trip south of the border and sheds light on the testing process for COVID-19.

Renee Frechette who currently lives in Vegreville, AB, had returned from a trip with her mom to Disney World in Florida on March 4 and said she started to feel cold-like symptoms a few days after, which is not uncommon for her.

“I will usually get a cold or something to that effect when I get back from a trip, so I wasn’t too concerned and the symptoms they were talking about for coronavirus, at that time, were having to do with shortness of breath, which I wasn’t experiencing, so I didn’t think too much of it.”

Frechette said however, since then the list of symptoms to watch for have become more vague and at the same time, she started to experience a fever and other symptoms that didn’t usually happen with a regular cold.

Once those symptoms started to develop, she said she was told by her boss to go home, after which, she called Health Link so she could gain some perspective on what she was dealing with.

“I wasn’t concerned for myself, it’s more for the people who may be around me that have compromised immune systems – I did not want to be responsible for someone getting the virus,” said Frechette.

After describing her symptoms and detailing her recent travel plans, Frechette was instructed to self-isolate and to be tested for COVID-10, which could be 24 to 48 hours after the initial call to Health Link.

“When you can go for testing, they ask if you are ok and able to leave your house, if you are – you are instructed to drive to the clinic and park at the front of the building and give them a call,” said Frechette.

She stated that a health professional then comes out to your vehicle, in what Frechette described as a hazmat suit, to come take the sample.

Frechette is now back at home as she awaits the results, which she was told could take upwards of four to five days.

Although she was aware of the virus, she said it did not weigh too heavily on her plans to travel to Florida and said there were minimum warnings or precautions when she was there.

“When we were down there, not a whole lot was being said at the park, even though there are thousands of people there from all over the world, we heard that that there was the first confirmed case down there but that was about it.”

She said the airports were similar and nothing seemed too out of the ordinary as they traveled from Edmonton to Calgary to Orlando.

As of yesterday, Frechette said she is still experiencing cold-like symptoms, however, her mom is “healthy as a horse” and hasn’t experienced any of the symptoms associated with a cold or COVID-19.

Over the course of the last 24 hours, numerous sports leagues and events have been cancelled due to COVID-19 and Saskatchewan continues to monitor the spread from the first confirmed case.

Frechette encourages anyone who may suspect they may have contracted the virus to self-isolate and get tested, if not for yourself, for those around you who may have compromised immune systems.