A Lower Mainland man who travelled through the Vancouver and Prince George airports multiple times believes he may have exposed area residents to COVID-19.
"I could've infected Prince George," Gordon Mohs said from his home in Mission where he’s self-isolated after showing symptoms.
Mohs said he made the trip from Mission to Quesnel three times - that's six times coming through the Vancouver and Prince George airports - to help his step father through pre-surgery prep. His 91-year-old stepfather needed hip replacement surgery and the preparation included a meeting with the anesthesiologist, getting an ECG, blood work and urine samples which were all taken by staff members on March 6 at University Hospital of Northern B.C. in Prince George.
Mohs said he was in close contact with many hospital staff members. He always tried to take his step dad and sit away from everyone else in common areas.
"I didn't want him getting sick," Mohs said. "I was sniffing a little bit and sneezing at the time and thought well, it's allergy season down here (Mission), maybe that's what it was."
He was very cautious about wearing his FN95 mask at the airport, on the plane and wiping down surfaces more for protection from others but later on as he got five out of six of the listed symptoms of COVID-19 he grew more and more concerned looking back about how he may have spread it to others. He didn't wear the mask at the hospital because he thought he was safe, he said.
He stayed at a downtown hotel and ate at a couple of downtown restaurants, he added.
By March 16, Mohs' symptoms were worse.
After 181 calls to 811 and finally going to a walk-in hospital to try to get tested with his trusty mask in place, a doctor told him he did indeed need to be tested.
Mohs said he got "the secret email address" that leads to a direct link to testing and he made it as far as the testing arena in Abbotsford before he was sent home to self-isolate as he'd been doing all along without being tested. He was told tests were for medical professionals and vulnerable seniors, he added.
"At that point I was in bad shape," Mohs said. "I actually couldn't believe in how bad shape I was and I got worse on the 17, 18 and 19. It was very frustrating. No doctor would see me."
Coughing for eight hours at a time at the worst part of his illness with intermittent fever, chills, chest pain, sweating, wheezing, sneezing and sniffles.
"The only thing I didn't have was the ongoing fever," Mohs said about the typical symptoms of COVID-19.
Mohs still doesn't know if he's got COVID-19 but he's got a connection with a biomedical lab that has self tests and has arranged to get one for himself and one for his wife.
"Why can't the government do that?" Mohs said. "If you're a politician or a sports star or rich you can get tested. Yes, the medical professionals should be given total priority on these things but to be shuffled around the system - what if I am positive? I could've infected Prince George and that's the part that disturbs me. I did my due diligence. I have done everything I can and that's it. All I can do now is to stay home."
