After a wait of 25 long months, when the world seemed to be slowly going back to the “old normal”, we decided to make a trip to visit our hometowns and bid adieu to the year with our parents. When everyone started thinking that the battle was won, the Christmas eve and the New Year celebrations brought back a gift for all that nobody ever wanted for sure. The Omicron wave started spreading like the untamed wildfire. They say, “you can run, but you cannot hide”. Our “almost perfect” trip was interrupted by a few millimeters long red band appearing on a wet strip. The ART kit announced that I too got COVID.
As soon as the band started appearing silently, the timer for the next 208 hours started immediately. The first and foremost thing at that moment was to isolate myself to protect my parents from the infection.
Omicron was kind enough to show mild symptoms. However, checking the fever became a regular thing. I realized why Dolo 650 became India’s “favourite snack” those days.
A gentle reminder on the door for wearing a mask while going out for using the bathroom.
A few essential medicines as prescribed by the doctor.
Breakfast time. I started having my food in disposable plates and cups to avoid contamination with regular utensils.
Keeping an eye on the SpO2 even after knowing that Omicron was mostly infecting the upper respiratory organs like throat and nose and not the lungs.
Taking steam. The quarantine period can make you try all sorts of funny and ghostly acts to kill boredom.
No such diseases exist that cannot be relieved by a cup of steaming “adrak wali chai” (ginger tea).
Gargling became one of my daily chores.
When you have days to spend in a 10×12 room, the only thing you can do is to stare outside the window and see how the world continues to move without you.
It was a holiday after all. If you are not having dinner together, then what’s the point of travelling 3000 km to visit your parents.
Even my trashes got royal treatments. I used to collect all my trashes in a garbage bag and sanitize it thoroughly before handing it over for the refuse chute.
A glimpse through the door. The only good thing that this goddamn Omicron did, is making me stay with my parents under the same roof for another extra week! Compensation for 2 years of separation, I guess?
When you have the whole day to think and relax.
Browsing through the internet and a little bit of social media time.
Another life-saver during my isolation period. My all-time favourite Bengali science fiction novels.
One of the 1000 ways of killing time is killing the mossies.
Keeping my room clean. After all, it was necessary to do some sort of physical activity when I started recovering from the symptoms.
A little bit of yoga never hurts.
And finally on the 9th day, when the GP declared me as “no-longer-infectious”, it was just a relief. However, more tasks were waiting thereafter. Sanitizing the whole room, washing all my used stuff were the last things to do before signing off from my 208 hours long isolation.
It was indeed a different experience altogether. With the help of timely vaccination, care from my family, and support from my doctor, I made a full recovery quite quickly. Now, as I wait for the booster shot, I can proudly say that I have already got the “Natural Immunity”.
About Ujjal Dey
I am from the City of Joy (Kolkata) and living in the City of Lion (Singapore). While doing my engineering, I came across a photography club run by university students. That was the place where I started learning about photography. Digital cameras were not so popular those days, so we used to use film cameras and develop/print ourselves in the club’s darkrooms. Later I purchased my first SLR camera Nikon D90 and started doing photography a bit seriously.
After 9 years with Nikon, I decided to move to Fujifilm mirrorless and currently own Fujifilm X-H1. My primary interests are streets, people, travel, and documentary photography. Photography is not just a hobby for me, it is something that keeps supplying me the essential oxygen for living. Somehow, I never feel to use it as my earning medium. So, by professional, I work as a senior software developer in an investment bank.
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Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted to Ujjal Dey. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
