*The family interviewed in this story has now confirmed their mother is in hospital but NOT in intensive care as originally indicated. We apologise for the misunderstanding.

The Nelson-based daughter of an Invercargill woman with COVID-19 who is fighting for her life in hospital, is devastated her mum was turned away from having a test for the coronavirus before she was finally diagnosed.

Nicole, who doesn't want her surname published as it will identify her mother without her permission, says her Invercargill-based mum first went to hospital last week with flu-like symptoms. But because she hadn’t been overseas, or been in contact with someone who had, she was diagnosed with the flu, sent home and told to rest without being tested for COVID-19. 

After five days of being bed-ridden, Nicole called her mum’s GP on her behalf to plead for a COVID-19 test. Her mum was taken to hospital on Wednesday, tested but discharged the same day when her chest X-Ray came back clear.

Two days later, her test for the virus returned positive. She was admitted to hospital again yesterday (April 4), an X-Ray showing the virus had affected her lungs. She is now one of a handful of New Zealanders in hospital fighting the virus.

Nicole is keeping up to date with her mother’s progress via her father and brother who are based at the family home in Invercargill. 

“This has been devastating news and it’s hard to fathom that my mum is now going to be one of the numbers of critical cases you are going to read about in the news today.”

Nicole says her mum has underlying health issues and she’s worried about what the next few days have in store.

“I’m completely at a loss as to why Mum just wasn’t instantly tested, given her vulnerability. But all my energy now is on supporting her and my family.

“I imagine the anger will come later but I also appreciate GPs are getting guidance from above and things are evolving so quickly and no one really understands what it is we are dealing with.”

She says her parents took all reasonable steps to self-isolate because of their health issues.

“My parents self isolated half a week before the lock-down because they were already getting concerned that because of their historical health issues, they may be at risk.

"The authorities, nor my family, have any idea where she got it, but it seems likely it was the supermarket.”

Before her mum’s test came back positive, Nicole sent a message to the Prime Minister’s Facebook page pleading for help. 

“My brother, his pregnant partner and two kids, aged three and seven months, also live in the house. So not testing the other occupants of the house has potentially deprived them of an opportunity to get to a safe area if they were negative.”

Her father, who is now also symptomatic, was tested on Friday and was advised this morning that his test had also come back positive. Her brother and his partner are being tested today. She says they are all doing as well as they can.

She now has a message for the rest of New Zealand. “If you are concerned you or someone else may have it, demand you are tested. Act like you have it, because you might.”