VANCOUVER -- A Vancouver-area senior who was initially denied a test for novel coronavirus has since learned he does have COVID-19.
When Rob Giesbrecht returned from Las Vegas he had similar symptoms, his family told CTV News previously.
"He had a fever, he had a dry, hacking cough," his son, Mike, said last week.
The 75-year-old and his wife, Shirley, had been in Vegas in early March. They flew back on March 16, and have been self-isolating since.
Days after arriving home, Rob started showing signs of the virus, and the couple called 811. They waited three hours to speak to someone, the family said, then were told to stay home.
A family doctor provided a similar message.
Health officials have said several times that not everyone showing symptoms will be tested, as the province is prioritizing those considered high-risk.
So the couple stayed home, but the day after Mike spoke to CTV, his father was rushed to hospital.
Rob had two seizures, the family says, and was tested for COVID-19. His results came the next day. He was positive.
Rob was able to come home after his brief hospital visit Thursday, but his family said Sunday that the senior is back in hospital.
Mike said his dad is now on a ventilator, and in an email, a woman who said she was Mike's sister-in-law said Rob was put into a medically-induced coma.
The couple had been on a WestJet flight from Vegas on Monday, March 16. The flight landed around 1 p.m., the family said.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Allison Hurst
