Teacher spends hours in airplane bathroom after she learns she has COVID mid-flight
“POV: You test positive for COVID while traveling over the Atlantic Ocean,” a now-viral TikTok reads.
That’s what happened to Marisa Fotieo, a Chicago teacher, when she was traveling to Switzerland on Dec. 20. It led to her spending four hours isolating in an airplane bathroom, she told WZZM.
The video, which as of Dec. 30 has 4.3 million views, caught the attention of many as coronavirus infections surged across the country, in large part because of the omicron variant. Fotieo explained her situation and brought viewers along in her journey in the comments and follow-up videos.
Fotieo, who grew up in East Grand Rapids, explained she’d taken two negative PCR tests before beginning her holiday journey.
She brought some at-home rapid antigen tests with her on the flight, just in case. The Illinois teacher said she ended up using the tests when her throat began to feel sore mid-flight.
She took a test in the bathroom about one hour into her flight — and tested positive.
“I can’t believe I spent four hours in that bathroom,” Fotieo told WZZM. “But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
When commenters wondered if she was a rare false positive case, she replied and said she was certain she had the coronavirus.
“I thought possibly, but they tested me on my layover and PCR was positive,” the Michigan native wrote. “I never made it to my destination. Quarantined in Iceland now.”
Fotieo then faced a 10-day quarantine in a Red Cross Humanitarian Hotel in Iceland as medical personnel supervised her health and brought her food, according to WZZM.
Although Fotieo’s hopes for her vacation were dashed, she said a flight attendant from Icelandair took it upon herself to care for her.
Fotieo said Ragnhildur “Rocky” Eiríksdóttir, the flight attendant on Fotieo’s flight, reached out to her and dropped off a care package full of isolation goodies, including a Christmas tree so she could celebrate the holiday, according to NBC.
While filming her reaction to the bags stocked with snacks and flowers, Fotieo began tearing up.
“Please excuse the dramatics, it’s been a long two days,” she wrote.
“She’s our flight attendant now,” a commenter declared.
Rocky even dropped off Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas gifts for Fotieo.
“I can confidently say that I would have probably cried for 10 days straight had it not been for Rocky,” Fotieo told WZZM.
While she’s counting down her days in isolation, Fotieo is documenting her Iceland journey, all from the safety of her hotel room to her new followers.
And in the meantime, she’s trying to find ideas on how to thank Rocky — whom she calls “an angel on this Earth” — for all her help.
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 1:11 PM with the headline "Teacher spends hours in airplane bathroom after she learns she has COVID mid-flight."
