It is Monday. Rocco Meiring is next to the Tuks swimming pool overseeing the training of Tatjana Schoenmaker and two more Olympians as they hone their skills for the Tokyo Games. 

Seemingly it is another typical day, but it is not. It is the first time in 17 days that Meiring felt strong enough to coach after he had tested positive for Covid-19. Last week he was still in the intensive care unit of a Midstream hospital receiving oxygen therapy. He only got to go home on Friday. Meiring considers himself to be one of the lucky ones. 

"The Covid-19 pandemic is real. People will be shocked if they know what is happening at our hospitals. I consider my ordeal to be a 'Sunday school picnic'. I worry that quite a few of the people who were with me in the intensive care unit are at risk of dying," said the Tuks swimming coach.

"That is despite the medical personnel doing a sterling job. My heart goes out to them. They are battling to cope as they are totally overworked. Still, every life matters to them." 

According to Meiring, one of the frightening things he experienced was being turned away at one hospital because the doctor felt he was too high risk. 

"Luckily, another doctor I knew said they were prepared to make a plan. I was told to go to the hospital's parking lot as you can't get near the hospital. People are queuing to be helped. When I arrived, a man was sent out to come looking for me. I was taken to a storage room with a stretcher. If they did not help me that night, I might have died.

"I can't tell you what a relief it was when I was discharged from hospital. You don't want to occupy a hospital bed longer than what is needed. There are other people who need hospital beds."

Meiring said he started feeling ill after he was vaccinated.

"I think I might already have had Covid at the time. When I started feeling sick, I thought it is my body reaction to the vaccination. So at first, I was not worried. I tried to doctor myself. My first Covid test was negative. I only tested positive the second time around. By then, I was getting progressively sicker. At one stage, I could not breathe through my nose anymore."

The Tuks coach admits being worried about what impact the third wave of the pandemic might have on the Olympic athlete's final preparation.

"There is more and more talk that the government might decide to move us to level five. Of course, it is the right thing to do, but no athlete can afford to lose two to three weeks of training at this stage."

As to why he is already coaching, Meiring said that he was already feeling energetic by Sunday. 

"I had two choices. I could sit upright in my bed and worry because I am not at the swimming pool or I was going to play putt-putt. So I chose to coach as I am in the people's business. The people's business is about eye to eye contact. I am really grateful for the coaches at Tuks who looked after my swimmers while I was sick."