District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little and his family are the latest to have been touched by COVID-19.
Little and his household started having symptoms late last week, and on Sunday (Jan. 9) went to the Lloyd Avenue testing site to get tested.
Their results came back positive.
“I’m following all public health orders and will remain isolated, according to the guidelines. Other than a mild fever and cold-like symptoms, I am doing well and resting comfortably at home,” Little said in a statement Monday.
Speaking to North Shore News, Little said he and his wife had low-grade fevers, while one of his daughters had terrible headaches – prompting their decision to get tested.
“We were pretty self-isolated through the Christmas break anyway, because we were so concerned about getting it. So we were already quite prepared to be self-isolated,” Little said. “We had lots of Disney+ and movies to watch, but what's been a really great thing is one of our daughters was finished with COVID earlier than the rest, so she's been able to run errands for us and get us stuff.”
Little said his experience at the Lloyd Avenue testing site was seamless. Taking all of about 10 minutes, Little and his family were given rapid antigen tests (RATs), and directed to wait until Day 3 to Day 5 of being symptomatic to do the test.
“I waited until Sunday night [to take the test], because we were quite certain that Thursday night is when I started to get some symptoms … so I waited until Sunday night to test and [the positive marker] was really clear, actually,” he said.
For folks who haven’t yet contracted COVID, Little said that we all need to have “absolute respect” for how contagious the virus is.
“You don't want to be the one to give it to someone vulnerable. So you have to immediately take steps to isolate yourself, because we had it happen to five family members in the span of two days; it just hit us all so fast,” he said. “And while you may be able to handle it, there may be vulnerable people in your circle that you have to take quick action in order to be able to protect them.”
The mayor was particularly appreciative of the health-care workers who are currently at testing sites across the region, saying that he’s saddened to hear that some have been recipients of verbal abuse.
“They’re doing a great job, and we support them,” he said.
Little was a notable absence at the district’s meeting on Monday night, where Coun. Lisa Muri stood in as acting mayor.
It’s not the only local government that has had to deal with the virus. The District of West Vancouver’s Mayor Mary-Ann Booth spoke to North Shore News last year about her family’s experience.
Her husband caught the virus in the spring, and it was a stressful experience for the both of them.
“We all think we’re kind of invincible and it’s not going to happen to us,” she said then.
Although her husband is healthy with no underlying health conditions, the virus hit him hard, she said, with fever and extreme fatigue.
“The longer the time goes on, there's a tendency to get more complacent,” she said.
“It’s a real wake-up call. If my husband can get it, anybody can get it.”
