Violette (first name), 28, has only one regret. "Having boarded this plane for Thailand, when I had quite severe headaches and intense fatigue for two days". Headaches, this Parisian employee of a large union often has them. So she is not alarmed and does not think she has coronavirus, this Tuesday, March 10, when she flies away with her partner, aged 29, for Bangkok. "As I started to cough very lightly, I wore a mask during the entire flight," she said, joined this Friday by phone.
It is when arriving in the Thai capital that his state of health deteriorates. Slightly first. “I had symptoms suggesting that I had a bad cold. My nose started to run, with big migraines ”. With this peculiarity: a loss of taste and smell. But as she does not have a fever, Violette blames this on fatigue and jet lag. And continues on its way as agreed, towards a lodge in the Kaoh Sok national reserve, in the South-East of Thailand.
"They came to get me in a full suit"
The young woman spends a short week at her resort, in a stationary state. "I had mild flu symptoms and sometimes coughed." But his state of health deteriorates, more seriously this time, on returning to Bangkok. "I have had severe coughing fits." She voluntarily went to Samitivej hospital, one of the largest private hospitals in the metropolitan area of Thailand, where she underwent a coronavirus screening test.
The result falls 48 hours later: "positive". On the phone, the doctors asked the couple not to leave their hotel room, where they had self-confined as a precaution. “We were picked up in full wetsuits, like in a film. I was sent to an isolation room at the hospital, without a bathroom and with an airlock, ”says Violette.
Thais have "mask culture"
In her bedroom, the young woman has no contact with the caregivers, who come to take her temperature and blood pressure every two hours, in combination. In this anxiety-provoking situation, Violette still keeps morale and tries to stay positive. "My health has improved significantly since I started taking antivirals," she says. “I think it could have been worse: Thailand has one of the best health systems in the world. There are few cases of coronavirus here, so I am managed in optimal conditions. ”
However, she cannot help but feel guilty. "My partner tested positive this [Friday] morning," she breathes. "I cried out in anguish for two days for him. And for fear of contaminating elderly Thais, who would not be able to afford treatment. Fortunately, the population here has a mask culture. I often wore one, out of respect for her. ”
Between 7,000 and 10,000 euros in hospital
For the duration of her hospitalization, Violette and her spouse estimated that they would have to pay between 7,000 and 10,000 euros per person. "I'm going to have to assume my stupidity," she admits. Without counting the return ticket, scheduled for March 23, which she will probably not be able to exchange.
"With the coronavirus crisis, the company [Thai Airways, Editor's note] is unreachable, and I have not taken out insurance," she laments. While air connections are becoming scarce, the prices of return flights are exploding and many French people are stranded abroad, in sometimes dantesque situations.
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After four days trying in vain to reach the French Embassy, Violette ended up being called back this Friday morning. “Was it the intervention of my union that helped unblock things? She wonders. The embassy promised to put her in contact with a French-speaking doctor, who will follow up on her case. "The embassy will then notify," she hopes. “The big unknown is how long I'm going to stay in the hospital. Everything will depend on my condition, which can still deteriorate ”.
But would her situation have been more enviable if Violette had never boarded her flight to Bangkok? "As I am one of these feverless cases in France, I would probably never have known that I had Covid-19," said the young woman. When she thinks of the number of people she could potentially contaminate in France, Violette shudders. "When I see that the French are not even able to prevent themselves from leaving their home ..."
