Woman tests positive for covid mid-flight, isolates for five hours in bathroom

Danny Jones

Not quite the Mile High Club but we applaud her nonetheless

A schoolteacher from Michigan self-isolated for five hours during a flight from Chicago after she tested positive for covid mid-flight. Self-isolation is tough enough in your own home let alone on the toilet of an aeroplane.

Marisa Fotieo was flying to Iceland‘s capital Reykjavik when she started to get a sore throat and sensibly took out one of her spare rapid covid tests that she had brought along with her, just in case.

Turns out, it was a good job she did as she told the Today Show that “within what felt like two seconds there were two lines”.

Having already entered the bathroom to take the test, Fotieo then proceeded to voluntarily isolate for the remainder of the journey, ie. the next five hours. What a ledge.

@marisaefotieo Shout out to @Icelandair for my VIP quarantine quarters.. #luxuryliving #imsolucky #covid #vaccinated #fyp #viralvideotiktok #quarantine ♬ I’m So Lucky Lucky – Grandzz

As you can see, she tried to have a sense of humour about it, playing “I’m So Lucky Lucky” as the soundtrack to her TikTok and quipping, “Shout out to Icelandair for my VIP quarantine quarters” in the caption of the video.

However, as she told multiple outlets, she really did form a bond with the cabin crew onboard.

While her TikTok shows her PCR was negative before she boarded the flight, she humorously pointed out that the Omicron variant obviously had other ideas, as she only developed her first symptom after embarking on the plane. However, as many have found out, this just goes to show how quickly an infection can arrive.

It demonstrates the importance of doing tests just before going outhttps://t.co/Z08frAnwME

— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) December 27, 2021

After she was taken to her quarantine hotel on December 20, Fotieo was facing Christmas alone in an economy hotel room. Thankfully, the flight attendant Ragnhildur “Rocky” Eiríksdóttir – with whom she had gotten to know during her five-hour lock-in – had a more pleasant surprise for her.

Speaking to NBC News, she spoke of how Rocky “made sure I had everything I needed for the next five hours from food to drinks and constantly checked on me assuring me I would be all right,” and after having swapped Instagram handles following their unforgettable experience, Fotieo was then met by this surprise at her door:

@marisaefotieo UPDATE: We LOVE Rocky from @icelandair.is she makes the world a happier place ? #christmas #sunnyday #vaccinated #covid #quarantine #fyp #viralvideo ♬ Sunny Day – Ramol

Good old Rocky arrived just in the nick of time to rescue what little of the holidays was left, not only gifting her a thoughtful note and a bag full of food and flowers – but even a Christmas tree with lights to boot. Now that is hospitality at its finest.

As the unfortunate passenger herself said, “There [were] 150 people on the flight, and my biggest fear was giving it to them” and it would seem the Icelandair crew were immensely grateful that she did her best to avoid that happening.