Genelia D'Souza shared her experience of being diagnosed with COVID-19 (courtesy geneliad)
Highlights
- "Isolation is extremely tough. It's you doing nothing in that time," said
- "I found being away from the family, really tough," she added
- "Never did I think I would test positive because," Genelia also said
Actress Genelia D'Souza, who was diagnosed with COVID-19, shared her quarantine experience in an interview with NDTV's Rohit Khilnani. Genelia, who had earlier said in her Instagram post that she was asymptomatic all throughout, revealed she still cannot fathom how she contracted the virus and was really taken aback when she tested positive. "If I hadn't tested, I wouldn't even have known that I was positive. So, the thing is, someone in the house tested positive and as routine, we all who were in contact with him, tested. It was on August 5 and we all got tested on August 6 to see what was going on. Everyone was in close contact with me as well. So, this person happened to be in the house and he tested positive and as a routine check up, everyone in the house got tested because we were in contact with him," Genelia told NDTV.
"Never did I think I would test positive because I didn't have a cold, I didn't have a runny nose, I didn't have fever, I didn't have any of these symptoms. So, I was literally extremely confident. I was in the house, didn't go out at all," Genelia added.
Genelia said moved to another house, where she spent 21-days in complete isolation, keeping herself busy with household chores. Staying away from family for three weeks was the most difficult bit of her quarantine experience. "You are locked in that room and it is the toughest part. I sometimes feel it is even tougher than what you feel," she said. "Even if you are quarantined in your room, it would help. Because even hearing footsteps or one talk in the far distance keeps you a lot saner than you being all alone. I found being away from the family, being just alone, isolated, really tough," she added.
When asked about missing her sons Riaan and Rahyl, Genelia said her husband, actor Riteish Deshmukh, was in charge of the kids and was "fantastic" at it: "Riteish took it up. We were also on this phase of distance learning and I did it more than Riteish... for three weeks he's been doing it and he did a fantastic job. Even with me, he was so worried. He was there, he was with the children."
Genelia D'Souza also talked about the stigma attached to COVID019 diagnosis and how "as a society, we need to be forgiving, we need to be there." Watch Genelia's full interview with NDTV here:
On August 29, in an Instagram post, Genelia revealed she had the coronavirus and tested negative after three weeks in isolation: "No amount of FaceTime and digital immersion can kill the evil of loneliness. I am happy to be back with my family and loved ones," she had written.
Genelia and Riteish Deshmukh got married in 2012. The couple have co-starred in films such as Tujhe Meri Kasam, Masti and Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya. Genelia was last seen in Marathi film Mauli in a cameo.