30 August 2021

Out of iso, 'patient-zero' still battling fatigue but moving on

| Kim Treasure
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Cedric Nyamsi

Cedric Nyamsi laid up in bed during isolation. Photo: Supplied.

For Canberra’s self-professed “patient-zero”, getting out of isolation was literally a breath of fresh air.

Cedric Nyamsi publicly outed himself to Region Media two weeks ago in a bid to counter the wild, unsupported rumours floating around social media about how he contracted the deadly Delta variant of COVID-19 and inadvertently sparked the ACT’s latest lockdown.

Speaking exclusively to Region Media, Mr Nyamsi said at the time that he was as mystified as anyone about how he contracted the virus, and denied having left the ACT for three months.

READ ALSO ‘I don’t want anyone to die because of me’: COVID-19 ‘patient zero’ speaks out

Now out of lockdown, the usually fit, healthy 27-year-old said he was still not fully recovered, suffering from lingering tiredness weeks after the initial infection.

Describing the past few weeks as “the worst situation in my life”, Cedric said he was looking forward to finally moving into his new home after spending weeks in isolation at the ANU.

Even with the benefit of hindsight, the current ACT heavyweight freestyle wrestling champion and former Commonwealth Games wrestler says he is at a loss to say who he caught the virus from.

An apprentice builder, he was working his second job as a bouncer at Fiction nightclub when the current outbreak was first detected.

READ ALSO ACT cases jump to 21, restrictions changing for business and construction

Cedric said he was devastated by rumours he caught COVID-19 by breaching health orders and driving into Sydney to get drugs.

“I was shocked when social media said I went to Sydney to buy drugs,” he said.

“I am a wrestler … I don’t take drugs at all.”

Around 11,000 Canberrans have either been released from quarantine over the past day or are preparing to leave quarantine once they can prove they have tested negative as more than a fortnight has elapsed since the ACT’s first case.

The ACT was plunged into lockdown on Thursday, 12 August, after the first case was identified.

The rapid increase in cases and exposure locations resulted in more than five per cent of the ACT’s population, or around 20,000 people, in isolation or quarantine at one stage. Over the weekend, less than 800 Canberrans were in quarantine.

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Kste Hallett6:52 am 03 Sep 21

Thank you for being brave and outing the falsehoods around your dreadful case of Covid, bullies are the worst! I sincerely hope the lingering symptoms are fully resolved soon. Take care

Capital Retro9:16 am 31 Aug 21

Talk about a lot of Facebook Fanfare!

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