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The Clarks Vs. COVID-19

Carmina Blewett
Covid sickness
While over a thousand Kiwis have had a run in with COVID-19, the Clark family have evaded it - twice  Carmina Blewett

Two negative Coronavirus results come as a relief for a Christchurch family

For Paul Clark, it started with a case of the sniffles and sore throat after he travelled with his wife, Nikki, through Thailand. 

While the 69-year-old wasn't concerned, symptoms persisted and others thought otherwise: a contributing factor to getting checked. 

"I didn't think it was the Coronavirus, but everybody else thought I'd better get tested, just to make sure.''  

Less than a week after the doubts were quashed, daughter-in-law Kelley exhibited similar symptoms of a sore throat and slight cough. 

"I'm also a nurse working in a GP practice, so for the safety guards, I was recommended to go for the Coronavirus testing." 

While Paul's negative results proved assurance for Kelley, not all concerns were settled.

"I was slightly anxious because I'd been seeing a lot of patients in my practice for the flu vaccine... most over 70-plus, so in that sense, I was a bit worried if I'm positive [as]the impact on the community is huge," Kelley said. 

Husband Jonny was initially concerned about a "domino effect" of several hundred people in need of contacting across church, school, and workplace environments in the event of positive results for Kelley and his father. 

Over a week since being cleared from COVID-19, Kelley hoped people would observe national health precautions. 

"If you can, keep your distance from people and make sure you wash your hands when you go home. Just from a nurse's point of view, it's a massive help for us health professionals."