A Chicago teacher who was on a plane to Iceland last week quarantined in a bathroom for four hours after finding out mid-flight that she had COVID-19.
Marisa Fotieo spoke to 13 On Your Side and said she developed a sore throat somewhere over the Atlantic. She had packed a few rapid tests with her, and after taking one, Fotieo discovered she had COVID-19.
She informed a flight attendant who determined that there were not enough empty seats on the plane to properly isolate her. Fotieo offered to “just stay in the bathroom for the rest of the flight” since she was concerned about the other passengers.
“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.
Fotieo’s TikTok video about the situation has been viewed more than three million times.
According to NBC News, Fotieo’s father and brother—who were both on the plane—tested negative upon arrival. They continued on to Switzerland while she stayed in Reyjavik to quarantine for 10 days.
Fotieo praised the airline and the flight attendant for helping her and said she is comfortable in the Red Cross Humanitarian Hotel. “Their flight attendants are so positive and so kind and they just put everybody at ease the second that this happened and they put me at ease which is why I think I was so willing to stay in that bathroom,” she said.