Spouse of coronavirus patient pleads with public to stay at home

A personal trainer from Hendon whose otherwise healthy husband was rushed to hospital after contracting the coronavirus has pleaded with the public to stay at home to halt the spread of the pandemic.

Anna Schuchman, 38, said her husband Daniel, a 40 year-old cycling enthusiast with no underlying health condition, went into self-isolation over a week ago after developing a cough and fever.

But the IT consultant was taken to Northwick Park Hospital last Wednesday, after his condition worsened, where he has been kept on a supply of oxygen.

“He was really struggling for breath. He was confused. There were two moments when he didn’t know where he was, which I know understand was part of the virus but obviously it was completely terrifying,” his spouse told Jewish News. “That’s when we got him to hospital.”

The Finchley United Synagogue member, raised in Florida in the US, has been using his phone to stay in touch with his wife and four children aged between six and 16, who are self isolating at home.

After several days in hospital, he was able to call his family using FaceTime, his wife said. “Although he couldn’t talk, he was able to see our faces and he could manage. As the week has gone on, he’s managed to talk more, which is amazing and for me definitely on the road to recovery.”

He is showing signs of recovery. “Today he’s had a huge turnaround which is amazing,” she said.”He’s still requiring a lot of oxygen but he is definitely more with it today, sending out a couple of text messages, which is good, and he’s even brushed his teeth which he hadn’t done in nine days.”

She called on members of the public to stay at home and praised NHS staff for the “amazing job” they are doing during the pandemic.

“Looking at the pictures today on the train, even after the prime minister’s speech last night, it’s just mind-blowing,” she said in a reference to the photos of packed carriages circulating on social media.

“I just thought we were so complacent. We really thought we would all be fine. We’re young. We’re healthy. We’re fit, and we were wrong,” she said. “People are going infecting other people without realising it.”