Dealing with the Omicron variant

Omicron has been a game-changer — but everyone is facing the new reality of the pandemic in a different way. The Star spoke to several people who have gone through an Omicron infection.

Avi Finegold

Finegold, a Rabbi in Montreal, caught Omicron in December and got over his symptoms in about a week. Now he’s questioning the harsh lockdown measures in place in Quebec, and hoping that instead of focusing on restrictions, leaders in all corners turned their attention to making a better community for the future.

Sheri Ford

More than two weeks after contracting COVID-19, Ford’s illness found its way to her lungs and she’s using inhalers to assist her breathing. It also means her kids, who still have symptoms too are not going back to school on schedule.

“This is not mild,” she said.

Sebastian Stranks

Stranks had no symptoms when he took three COVID-19 tests that confirmed he had the virus. He was glad it stopped him from visiting his grandma and potentially passing it on to her.

“Yeah personally given my age and how healthy I am I wasn’t too concerned about getting it myself. It was more getting it and then passing it on to someone else that worried me,” he said.

Jake Russell

Russell works from home, so isolating with his suspected COVID-19 case was not a problem for work.

But adapting to his new social reality was hard for the 26-yearold. “That’s one thing that people miss about COVID is when you get it you’re by yourself,” he said.

Megan Shroder

Musician Shroder believes she contracted Omicron from a friend, during a rehearsal.

“We were singing together but we weren’t that close.”

Shroder believes it was her second time with COVID-19. She was tested for it in March of 2020, after she had been travelling, but she never got a callback with the results. This time, a test wasn’t even available.