Marisa Fotieo Chicago teacher quarantines in plane bathroom for 5 hours after testing positive for COVID while on IcelandAir.
‘It was a crazy experience.’ A Chicago teacher traveling to Iceland last week from NJ’s Newark International Airport said she quarantined in the plane’s bathroom for five hours after finding out — mid-flight — that she had COVID-19, according to reports.
Marisa Fotieo told 13 On Your Side that her ordeal started somewhere over the Atlantic when she developed a sore throat. She said she packed a few rapid tests and took one in the plane’s restroom. She found out she had the virus within seconds.
She said she informed a quick-thinking flight attendant, who determined that there were not enough empty seats on the aircraft to properly isolate her. Fotieo said she was concerned about the welfare of the other passengers, so offered to ‘just stay in the bathroom for the rest of the flight.’
‘There was 150 people on the flight, and my biggest fear was giving it to them.
‘I can’t believe I spent four hours in that bathroom, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,’ she said. Adding, ‘It was a crazy experience.’
@marisaefotieo Shout out to @Icelandair for my VIP quarantine quarters.. #luxuryliving #imsolucky #covid #vaccinated #fyp #viralvideotiktok #quarantine ♬ I’m So Lucky Lucky – Grandzz
Caring for others well-being
The teacher’s live account which she documented on TikTok has been viewed more than 3 million times.
Fotieo said she was able to make it through being cooped up in the bathroom thanks to the care of flight attendant Ragnhildur “Rocky” Eiríksdóttir.
‘She 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,’ Fotieo wrote in an email to NBC News
Fotieo’s father and brother — who were both on the plane — tested negative upon arrival and continued on to Switzerland. Fotieo stayed back in Reyjavik, where she is quarantining for 10 days.
She said she has been comfortable in the Red Cross Humanitarian Hotel where she has been staying and plans to leave in a few days.
