Greta Thunberg is self-isolating after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
Rachel Ferguson CTVNews.ca writer
Published Tuesday, March 24, 2020 1:49PM EDT
Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg addresses guests at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
TORONTO --
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, teen activist Greta Thunberg announced that she has been self-isolating in Sweden for the past 10 days, after coming down with symptoms of COVID-19.
Thunberg and her father had just returned home from travelling around Central Europe when they began showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus. Despite not being tested for the virus, the two determined it was the most likely culprit given their symptoms and recent travel history.
To keep her mother and sister safe, the young environmentalist has been self-isolating in a rented apartment in Sweden. For Thunberg, the symptoms were minor.
“I was feeling tired, had shivers, a sore throat and coughed. My dad experienced the same symptoms, but much more intense and with a fever,” she wrote in the Instagram post.
She ended the post with a plea to her peers to take whatever steps possible to mitigate the spread of the illness. She emphasized that for many young people the symptoms may appear so minor that they can often go undetected, making it easy to spread to high risk groups.
“We who don’t belong to a risk group have an enormous responsibility, our actions can be the difference between life and death for many others. Please keep that in mind, follow the advice from experts and your local authorities and #StayAtHome to slow the spread of the virus,” she wrote. “And remember to always take care of each other and help those in need.”