SA Rugby director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has revealed that he and his immediate family contracted Covid-19.

Last year it was revealed that Erasmus was diagnosed with microscopic polyangiitis with granulomatosis early in 2019 and had undergone chemotherapy throughout the year, including during the World Cup.

It is a serious condition which can be life threatening, but at the time Erasmus decided to keep his illness and treatment out of the public domain as he didn’t want the news to serve as a distraction during the World Cup.

On Monday, though, during a virtual media conference, the 48-year-old Erasmus confirmed that he, his wife and their children had Covid-19.

He admitted that while his children didn’t show any of the severe symptoms, he and his wife were gravely ill.

‘Myself, my wife and the kids got it. But their [the children’s] symptoms were just losing taste, they didn’t really feel sick. We [Erasmus and his wife] were in pretty bad shape,’ he said.

‘I think it was on days nine, 10, 11 to 14 that we were down and out and I was really worried because we have underlying illnesses.’

The family has now recovered, but Erasmus says his heart rate is still below average as a result of his coronavirus diagnosis.

‘For five days it was really, really bad, but there are people who had/have it much worse, so it’s not so bad at this stage. We’re doing well,’ he explained.

‘The only things that’s left now are headaches and – with my fat body – a really low heart rate for some reason. I’m averaging between 48 and 55 [beats per minute], which I definitely shouldn’t be, considering how fat I am currently,’ he added with a wry smile.

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