The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has marked us all and changed our lifestyle. With Ramadan in full swing, Saudis are in line with all precautionary measures for the sake of their safety but still miss the main characteristic of the Holy Month: cherished family gatherings.
Asharq Al Awsat spoke with a Riham, a 31 year-old Saudi woman, who has contracted the virus in her trip to Europe. When she came back from Europe, Riham didn’t go straight home but to a Jeddah hotel where she was set to spend more than 40 days. Ever she set foot in KSA in mid-march, her only wish is to see her family in person. Read her testimonial from Asharq Al Awsat:
“I arrived in Jeddah from Courchevel on March 15, and I did not feel any symptoms at the time. In the interest of my mother and father, my friend and I went immediately to a hotel in Jeddah to stay there for 14 days, following precautionary measures to ensure that we did not suffer from the virus. During this period we did a COVID-19 test. My friend’s result came in first and she was cleared from having the virus. This made me think that I too was in the clear, so I returned home two days before my test results came out. They asked me for the names of people I was in contact with. It was one of the hardest moments of my life, because after heeding all preventative measures and quarantining myself for 14 days I still posed a risk for my family unintentionally,” Riham said.
Symptoms like a fever and a sever cough didn’t struck Riham from the start, all she felt was a headache and a mild cough. After the medical signs then worsened, Riham received a call informing her that she positive for the virus. Riham is now healing under proper medical attention and hopes to spend the rest of Ramadan with her family. Get well soon Riham!
