Toronto Man Shares His 'Scary' Fight Against UK Variant That Left His Partner Hospitalized

A 33-year-old Toronto man is coming forward with a warning about his experience with the B.1.1.7 variant, which was identified in the U.K. 

Kevin Morris wrote on Twitter that he and his partner, 51-year-old Russell Day, had a "full-fledged fever and exhaustion" on March 6 after developing symptoms on March 2.

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"We have not seen anyone. We have not hugged a friend on the street or had a quiet dinner at someone's house. And BAM!," he wrote. 

Morris said that while he'd started coming around last week, they "could not get [Day's] symptoms under control" and he had to be taken into Toronto General Hospital — Morris said he "wasn't even allowed to walk him into emergency," let alone visit at all.

After several days in the care of hospital staff, Morris told Narcity that Day is now "home and slowly on the mend."

A "frustrating" and "scary" experience

Morris said to Narcity that "after a year of precautions," getting COVID-19 was "frustrating, and at the same time scary."

"We both willed ourselves to just be like, 'Ok, we have it. Let’s deal with it,' rather than just falling apart. Then, of course, you get sicker, and then it’s totally different."

"We still are not able to trace where we got it," said Morris. "People still come out and ask, 'But really... how did you get it?' I guess skepticism is natural but you’re going to have to just take my word when I say I don’t know. It would be easier if I did know."

"Stay vigilant. Do not relax now."

Morris concluded his post with a warning that "the variant is not like the original virus and the risk is too great."

"I want to use my experience to pass the word," he wrote.
"This thing is no joke. It is so contagious and I don't know if we'll ever trace how we got it."

"I am not saying this to scare anyone," he wrote. "But as the province has relaxed restrictions, we are now in a third wave and the word is still not being spread about proper protocols and safety measures."