I went blank when I was told my wife is critical

Actor Himanshu Soni went through an ordeal after his wife, Sheetal, tested positive for Covid-19. “When the doctors told me she was critical, it took me two-three hours to come to terms with it. I was crying and didn’t know how to handle the situation. I went blank for some time. I believe that my faith in God gave me the ability to make the right decisions,” says the Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush actor, 31. His wife has now been discharged and will continue treatment at home for a month.

Soni reveals Sheetal had travelled to Rishikesh for work and “don’t know how or where she got infected”. He shares, “At first, it was cold, flu and fever, but as she had tested negative before leaving, she didn’t think it could be Covid-19. When she checked her oxygen level, it was low and she had trouble breathing. She was admitted to an isolation ward in Rishikesh on July 2. I reached the next day and the doctors told me that she is serious and has pneumonia, so will be shifted to ICU. When I consulted doctors in Mumbai, they told me to shift her to Delhi. On July 4, we shifted her to Delhi with help from her boss. He also helped get the medicine Remdesivir, which is low in stock. She felt good after two doses and recovered easily. She was out of the ICU on July 12, her birthday.”

Soni admits that meditation helped the couple stay calm and sane in those tough moments. “Prayers and meditation, and medication, of course, helped her,” he says, adding that he is thankful to all the doctors and the plasma donors. Urging people to not dismiss symptoms of cold, cough and fever, he says, “Please don’t take it lightly and get a test done after consultation with a doctor.”

Beijing is set to reopen 262 cinemas in its “low-risk areas” on Friday, Variety quoted officials as saying. However, attendance will be capped at 30%, with no concessions being sold.

On the other hand, the virtual Toronto Film Festival, which is slated to begin on September 10, will be opened by the film version of David Byrne’s American Utopia Broadway stage play, helmed by Spike Lee, festival organisers said on Tuesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.