How I finally sniffed out a case of Covid in 2023 | Nathan Davies

Somehow we transitioned from Covid being an existential threat to humanity itself to … wherever we’re at now, writes Nathan Davies.

I just had Covid for the first time.

I’m blaming my wife because she got sick before I did, but it could have come from one of the germ incubators we call kids.

Either way, the adults went down with aches and chills and fevers, and all the other lovely things that come with the virus while the children sailed through unaffected.

In fact it’s unfair to blame anyone in my family when I obviously brought it upon myself by recently loudly declaring to my colleagues that I was “clearly immune to Covid”.

I don’t really believe in the concept of tempting fate but if it is true then a statement like that is the karmic equivalent of sticking a giant target on my back.

Anyway, it struck me that catching Covid for the first time in 2023 was a pretty daggy thing to do.

The world has moved on. There’s no more sharing sourdough recipes, no more putting teddy bears in the window, no more shutting down cities over pizza boxes or daily press conferences or police arresting old ladies for walking in the park.

Somehow we transitioned from Covid being an existential threat to humanity itself to … wherever we’re at now.

Collectively ignoring it, essentially.

Catching Covid now is a little like rocking up to a hipster house-warming, dropping a record on the turntable and loudly declaring, “hey, have you guys heard of MGMT?”

It’s like giving your nephew a fidget spinner for his birthday. Or perhaps a Hypercolor T-shirt.

It’s just a bit uncool.

However Covid still exists, it’s still infecting thousands of Australians every day and people are still dying from it.

Luckily, for my wife and I it was something like a mild case of influenza, although it does leave you a little tired even after the symptoms have cleared up.

But the strangest part of catching the old coronavirus, for me at least, was that I completely lost my sense of smell for a few days.

It wasn’t dulled, it actually disappeared.

South Australia’s chief Covid fighter Professor Nicola Spurrier holds up a face mask during one of the regular Covid era media updates. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

Now if you have to lose a sense I guess smell is one of the better ones. Certainly beats going blind or deaf, but it’s still pretty disconcerting when it happens. I first noticed that my food was tasting strange and that my coffee was tasting like a cup of hot water. Then I cracked a beer and realised it tasted like soda water.

Then, while having a shower, I realised the orange and bergamot body wash had no odour. Neither did the rose petal shampoo or the “salty beach” scented candle sitting on the edge of the bath.

I decided to challenge my nose. There must be some smell left.

I crushed a kaffir lime leaf under my nostrils. Nothing. I pulled a firelighter out of its packet and inhaled. Nada. I even went into the shed, cracked open a jerry can of petrol and took a big whiff. No smell.

So I did what I do with all health ailments and Googled it. I find it’s an excellent way to turn even small problems into life-threatening diseases.

Google told me I had something called anosmia and that it would – usually – resolve itself in a matter of days or weeks.

Of course I focused on the word usually and convinced myself I would never again enjoy the smell of rain in the bush, a freshly waxed surfboard, a delicate pinot or garlic and onions softening in a pan of olive oil.

No, I was destined to be anosmic man who moped through life with no olfactory pleasure.

I was going to be that guy who blows up the house while bingeing Netflix because I couldn’t smell that I’d left the gas on.

The guy who gets salmonella because he obliviously chows down on a rotten egg sandwich.

Of course I was wrong and gradually, in fits and starts, my sense of smell – and taste – has returned.

I couldn’t have been more happy and I’m still randomly sniffing things just for the joy of it.

So that’s the story of how I lost my Covid virginity.

Now while I have your attention, have you heard of a band out of New York City called The Strokes? I have a hunch that they’re going to be huge.