I’d rather spend Christmas alone than risk catching Covid - YEP letters

I can’t believe so many people are saying “family first” when it comes to Christmas.

Of course family comes first and we all want to be with them at Christmas, but how would these people feel if, as a result of spending time together, those precious family members end up with Covid-19?

My son and his wife, living in London, have both caught it, despite never using the underground or the bus. They either walk or cycle everywhere and are generally very fit and are working from home.

My son is now in hospital and has been on an oxygen mask and antibiotics for a week. The only symptom he had was a bad headache for seven days. It was only when he contacted the doctor and had his oxygen level measured that the full extent of the illness was diagnosed.

The headache had been caused by a chest infection/pneumonia, which meant he wasn’t getting enough oxygen to his brain. He’s still on oxygen and we have no idea when he’ll be well enough to come home.

If this can happen to a relatively fit man, what do you think would be the result if your elderly relative caught it and how guilty would you feel knowing that you had passed it on to them?

My husband died this year and I can’t wait to see my sons (one of whom lives in the USA) but I’d rather spend the Christmas period alone than run the risk of being as ill as my son has been. We still have the phone and the internet, thank goodness.

And, by the way, this is not “just a bug” or “a touch of flu”.