Despite being confined to her own home, one Aberdeen woman is still trying to do her bit to help others.
Michaela Hernychova, 25, returned from London last week with flu-like symptoms.
Rather than take the chance of spreading any germs, she decided to join the hundreds across the country self-isolating.
She said: “I was in London for work and on public transport a lot.
“I came back and felt I shouldn’t visit my partner’s grandma as I had a sore throat and flu-like symptoms.
“After that, I thought that if I didn’t feel safe visiting her, it wouldn’t be responsible to go out among other older people.”
Ms Hernychova, who works in recruitment for Aberdeen University, is today on day five of her self-isolation and working from home.
When she’s not working, Ms Hernychova is also doing her bit to help other, more vulnerable, members of society in the same situation.
She’s helping to coordinate volunteers for the Aberdeen Mutual Aid group, who are in the process of creating a large-scale help service for people in need during the outbreak.
Ms Hernychova said: “I wanted to do something to help with the local efforts.
“The group is in the early days but, essentially, we’ve setting up whatsapp groups that will help coordinate efforts in each ward of Aberdeen – Torry, George Street and Harbour and so on.
“When someone contacts us requesting help, we will triage this to the appropriate area group and see who is available to help out.”
Originally, from Czech Republic, Ms Hernychova won’t be able to travel home to her family during the pandemic – as the country has locked down borders.
She said: “I’ve managed to keep in good contact with my family and since the borders are locked down I wouldn’t be able to get in anyway.
“My mum works at the council, which is shut there, unlike in Aberdeen.
“It is slightly concerning how many things we still have open here compared to Europe – we seem to be falling behind.”
As Ms Hernychova makes sure to get up early and keep busy with work to look after her mental health, she said her two cats have been “loving” the extra attention.
To sign up for Aberdeen Mutual Aid, go to
https://forms.gle/Dvgnry7Uvxc8ZsuT6
.
