My wife is proof that Covid-19 can strike anyone â donât be complacent HELLO everybody – welcome to the latest instalment of the ‘Safety First’ column for The Northern Echo. It’s been a difficult time since the last column because my wife, Rachel, contracted Covid-19 and ended up in hospital for a full week. She was on oxygen for 24-hours a day and became really poorly. Rachel, pictured with me below, has no underlying health conditions, and is one of the fittest people I know. She runs five kilometres regularly, and was a personal fitness instructor, so it just goes to show that this horrible virus can strike anyone.