Woman, 65, in hospital with bad Covid after ignoring advice not to go on holiday
Shahnaz Mahager is believed to have picked up Covid after traveling to Mexico with her daughter, and is now on the verge of being admitted to ICU
A 65 year-old woman is seriously-ill with Covid after ignoring advice not to travel to Mexico for a vacation. Shahnaz Mahager is receiving large quantities of oxygen at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla in San Diego after traveling to Mexico to relax and see family.
Doctors fear she may have to be moved to intensive care if her condition declines further. Mahager’s daughter Elly Kho, who also went on the trip, thinks its highly likely her mother picked up the virus while in Mexico. She did not say whether they traveled by air or road.
Kho, 38, shared her story as a cautionary tale to others, saying: ‘To see her like this, it’s not worth it. It just wasn’t worth it for her, you know? I had people advising against (the trip).
‘My brother and sister saying, “Are you sure you should take your mom?” Of course, we’re thinking, “Well, it only affects people that are (in their) 70s and 80s.”‘
Kho added: ‘It’s just been so draining and so scary to have underestimated how vicious this really is.’ Mahager began struggling to breathe after coming back from Mexico, with Kho rushing her mom to hospital, where she tested positive for coronavirus.
Kho managed to avoid being infected by the virus, but says she has dropped her previously-flippant attitude to it. She told Fox5: ‘I was that person that “Oh, maybe it’s political” and “Oh, it only affects the really elderly.”
‘We all have to be taking this so much more seriously — really, it is seriously. And I was the last person to take it seriously.’
Covid has now infected more than 24.6million Americans, and killed over 410,300 people across the US.
Health officials have warned against all-but-essential travel to try and stop the virus spreading further, and have imposed tough quarantine rules.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk
For more stories like this, check our news page