Edmundston man fled to remote cottage by snowmobile to escape COVID, but it was too late

One day before the Edmundston area went into lockdown, GillesCormierand his family stockedup on food and snowmobiledto a remote cottage, where they thought they'd be safe from COVID-19.

But it was already too late. From a hospital bed,Cormiertold Radio-Canada that he, his wife, and his sister-in-law had all contracted COVID-19.

They began feeling ill when they got to the cottage, andsnowmobiled back to the city.

They were tested and wereconfirmed to beamong the dozens of people in the region, Zone, 4, who have contracted the infection.

The Edmundston regioncurrently has 131 active cases of the respiratory infection, the highest in the province by 100 cases.

Cormier, a 70-year-old former businessman,has been receiving oxygen to help him breathe and is slowly recovering.

He's pleading with the community to be careful and follow the rules. He saidbeing sick with COVID-19 is not easy, and he wouldn't wish it on anyone.

'Disarray' after lockdown

Cormier and his wife and sister-in-law decided to snowmobile to the cottage on Jan. 22. They thought it would be easier to isolate there, he said, and safer, because there were no other people around.

But within days, they started feeling ill. Cormier said his wife had the first symptoms, and he was next, followed by his sister-in-law. On Saturday, his wife passed out. This is when the trio decided to go back to the city.

"My wife had a [bad]headache, so did my sister-in-law," Cormier said. "We went home."

When they got home, Cormier called 811. Edmundston had been in lockdown for a week by then, so it was "disarray and hell," he said.

He got tested in a trailer near the Edmundston Regional Hospital. He then went home and lay down, and when he tried to get up, "I wanted to throw up," he said.

That's when he asked his wife to call 911.

He was taken to hospital and has been there ever since.

Cormier said he's been taken care of well. The staff are "angels all around me," he said.

He said the message he wants to pass on is: wash your hands, be careful, wear masks.

His voice broke when he said he's lucky he has good people around him, praying for him, and he's looking forward to recovering from the illness.