The father-of-three was preg-testing cows at a Yarrawalla property last Tuesday, March 31, before discovering on Friday the farmer he was working with had COVID-19.
“He obviously didn’t know at the time,” Paul said.
“His father has cancer and had flown to Sydney for a blind trial. When he’s gone to fly home, he’s run into the cruise ship crowd at the Sydney airport.
“Within a few days he wasn’t feeling well, and he and his son have since tested positive to coronavirus.”
Paul said while he hadn’t had close contact with the farmer, he had spent three hours at the property.
“It was a herringbone-shaped shed, and I was up one end and he was at the other. I was being pushed along on a trolley, so we occasionally passed and spoke to each other.
“I don’t remember having a close-up conversation with him though.”
Paul immediately contacted Echuca Regional Health to see if he should be tested.
“They won’t test me unless I show symptoms,” he said.
Although he is not sick, Paul didn’t want to take any risks, so he decided to self-isolate for two weeks.
“It’s frustrating because we have gone to a lot of effort to reduce the risk at the Cohuna clinic,” he said.
“We don’t let people in the clinic and are serving people through the front window. We have been very careful with the measures we have put in place.
“It just goes to show that no-one could have stopped this from happening.”
With wife Karen and three children living at home, Paul has isolated himself in the master bedroom to protect his family.
“I have my own ensuite and I have access to the deck, so I can sit on the deck and do a bit of gardening outside,” he said.
And with a week left to go, Paul is taking advantage of the down time.
“I’m quite enjoying it because I don’t get a whole lot of time off,” he said.
“I’m enjoying Netflix and 7Mate. And thank God for Facebook.
“Karen throws food at me sometimes but I think she is taking advantage of this so I can lose weight.”
While two other vets are still working at Clavin Rogers and Associates veterinary clinic, it will only be providing emergency services.
“Just because the vets are open doesn’t mean it’s a good excuse for an outing,” Paul said.
“Last week, people were still bringing dogs in to be clipped and desexed. This is ridiculous.
“There is a lot of anti-isolation banter in social media. This needs to stop. People need to take isolation and social distancing more seriously.”
While Paul is looking forward to getting back to work, it won’t be the first thing he’ll be doing once he is free from isolation.
“I’ll probably go into T&T Café and buy a nice coffee,” he laughed.
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