The Adelaide family who tested positive to COVID-19 as part of the Granites mine cluster are counting down the days until they can leave quarantine.
Key points:
- Adam Ryan flew back to Adelaide from the Granites mine on June 25
- His wife and their four children have been in hotel quarantine since testing positive
- They are keen to see their dog and stretch their legs once released
Adam Ryan caught the Delta strain of coronavirus while working at the mine, in the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory, which is at the centre of a COVID-19 outbreak and left hundreds in isolation.
He flew back to South Australia on a Virgin flight on June 25, and he and his family immediately self-isolated.
Mr Ryan, his wife Kristen and their four children all eventually tested positive, and the family was moved to Tom’s Court medi-hotel.
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)Mr Ryan said they had what they hoped was their last COVID-19 test this morning.
“So, Thursday we should be free to go, let’s hope,” he said.
He said their children, all aged under 10, had handled the difficult situation surprisingly well.
“They’ve been pretty good to be honest … as long as they get a bit of screen time,” he said.
“Obviously, they have their tantrums, wanting to go home and wanting to do other things, but they seem to be OK.”
Kristen Ryan said the hotel balcony had provided some much-needed fresh air and sunshine, but she was ready for more.
Speaking on June 30, Premier Steven Marshall thanked the family for avoiding lockdown.
“If this family had completely ignored it, gone to the football, gone down to the local shops, it’s quite possible we’d have a catastrophic situation on our hands at the moment. They didn’t. They did the right thing. We’re very grateful,” he said.
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)‘Beautiful’ birthday in quarantine
Mrs Ryan celebrated her birthday during the family’s fortnight in lockdown.
“It was beautiful. I had some friends come by and they held up signs outside and we just FaceTimed and chatted for a bit,” she said.
“They dropped off a package with some goodies in it [and] Adam had one of them deliver a present for me.
“It wasn’t so bad actually; I had a good day.”
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)Hoping for no long-lasting issues
Mr Ryan said coronavirus left him and his wife “pretty sick” for several days.
“I struggled breathing for a bit — you know, the normal aches and pain — more like flu-like systems,” he said.
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)“I had a lingering cough, which is still kind of around now, but [doctors are] not too concerned about it so I’m hoping it will pass and no long-lasting issues will be there.
“Kristen, she had a few days of a pretty bad fever and things, but we’ve been able to deal with that.”
Mrs Ryan said the children’s symptoms were more mild, including in their young baby, Isla.
“I know they’re resilient as babies, but they still seem so little and fragile.
“At no point with any of the kids were we worried that it had gotten bad, so we’re lucky with that.”
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)Family did ‘what made sense’
The family has been widely praised for isolating, even after Mr Ryan initially received a negative test result.
Mrs Ryan said she was “so grateful for it because I came into this quarantine worrying … I didn’t want anyone to know”.
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)“My sister was sending me screenshots of comments that people were making, these really nice things they were saying, and I just instantly felt like the weight of that side of it just left,” she said.
“I thought ‘OK, now I can just focus on the kids and making sure we’re OK’ and I just had no fear of that anymore, which was so nice.”
Mr Ryan said they did not feel like they had done anything special.
“All we’d done is make a decision that made sense to us,” he said.
“It feels weird … but after talking to some people and realising we had every chance to just live our normal lives.
“We had kids’ sport, I had a very busy week that week … and it was very tempting to just not bother.
“It’s very worrying to think about our neighbours, the school even, the community around us, how far it could have spread.”
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)‘Desperate’ to see pregnant dog
Mr and Mrs Ryan said their first stop when they left quarantine would be to pick up their pregnant dog Maddie, who was being cared for by the RSPCA.
“We’ve had a couple of photo updates and we’ve spoken to the people, but we had a video of her today and it was just the best thing ever,” Mrs Ryan said.
“She looks so happy — I think they’re taking really good care of her.”
“She won’t want to come home,” joked Mr Ryan.
“We’re desperate to get Maddie back.”
