An American woman chose to isolate herself in the bathroom of an airplane after testing positive for Covid-19 mid-flight from Chicago to Iceland. Marisa Fotieo said she began to feel a sore throat halfway through the trip, which prompted her to go to the bathroom to take a quick test that confirmed she was infected.
“I just took my quick test and took it to the bathroom, and within two seconds two lines appeared [indicating the test was positive],” she told NBC News. Fotieo shared the news on TikTok and posted a short video inside the cramped bathroom, writing that she had tested positive while flying over the Atlantic Ocean.
There are 150 people on the flight, my biggest fear was infecting people on board.
Marisa Fotieo
According to CNN, Fotieo is fully vaccinated and has received the booster. She is an early childhood teacher in Chicago and tests often since she works with an unvaccinated population. Fotieo reported that she remained in the bathroom for the rest of the flight, relying on flight attendant Ragnhildur “Rocky” Eiríksdóttir to provide her with food and drinks.
I was in shock that I was missing out on a family trip. I was in shock that I was going to be in Iceland alone. I was in shock that I had 20 families back home that just had me in their classroom.
Marisa Fotieo
The video on Fotieo’s TikTok has been viewed more than four million times since it was first uploaded on December 21st, with followers showing curiosity to know how the teacher managed to board the flight. In an interview with CNN, the traveler said that she was fully vaccinated, even with a booster dose, and that her final destination was Switzerland.
Fotieo explained that she tested negative twice to Covid-19 in PCR tests before boarding. “I never made it to my destination. Quarantined in Iceland now,” she later reported, having posted a series of videos during her ten-day quarantine at a hotel in Reykjavik.
