COVID: Woman self-isolates in aeroplane toilet after testing positive mid-flight

A US woman had to spend at least three hours in the cubicle of a flight after testing positive for Covid while mid-air. She took a total of seven tests—two PCR and five rapid tests—prior to boarding the plane, and they all came out negative.

Testing positive

Marisa Fotieo was on a flight from Chicago to Reykjavik, Iceland on December 19, with her brother and father. Their final destination was Switzerland. Midway through the journey, Fotieo started experiencing pain in her throat.

She decided to go to the toilet cubicle to test for the virus and when the result came back positive, she sat on the toilet seat for the rest of the flight.

Speaking to CNN, Fotieo said:

The wheels started turning in my brain and I thought, 'OK, I'm going to just go take a test.' It was going to make me feel better. Immediately, it came back positive.

Fotieo, an early childhood teacher in Chicago, is fully vaccinated and has received the booster. She told of how scared and worried she was after seeing the result.

The first flight attendant I ran into was Rocky. I was hysterical, I was crying. I was nervous for my family who I just had dinner with. I was nervous for the other people on the plane. I was nervous for myself.

Makeshift seat

The flight attendant tried to rearrange seats so Fotieo could be seated in a spot alone, but that was not to be, as the plane was full.

When she came back and told me she couldn't find enough seating, I opted to stay in the bathroom because I did not want to be around others on the flight.

She never made it to her destination, instead she spent 10 days quarantining in a hotel in Iceland.