Anyone who follows Australian soprano Helena Dix on Twitter or Facebook knows that she is an exuberant presence on the social media platforms, posting regularly and enthusiastically about impending opera roles, inspiring musical performances, and her much-loved dog. So when she went suddenly went quiet, three or so weeks ago, people noticed.

Helena Dix

On April 4, she explained her silence in a Tweet: “Quite a few of you have reached out to me as I’ve been unusually quiet. I’ve been wiped out the last 10 days with what appeared to be Covid-19 symptoms. With a cough, soaring temp and a scary inability to breath well it’s been horrendous. I’m making a slow but steady recovery now”, she said in the post. At that point she was self-isolating at her London home.