With numerous kinds of information and rumors doing the rounds, her advice might prove to be useful!
According to WHO, there are 414,179 confirmed cases of Coronavirus globally and the death toll has risen to 18 440 as of March 25.
Needless to mention, the novel virus has taken the shape of a full-blown pandemic and many countries have decided to slip into a phase of quarantine until the situation gets better. While there is no denying the fact that staying safe is a non-negotiable right now, falling prey to rumors or misinformation and acting out of panic will also cause much harm.
A 37-year-old woman from Seattle, US, Elizabeth Schneider, who says she had suffered the symptoms of the novel virus and has now recovered, has recently shared her experience with CNN and has a very important piece of advice for all of us trying to navigate through this tough time.
"I think the big takeaway I want to tell everyone is: Please don't panic," Schneider said.
She believes that she had contracted the virus from a house party she was at, because some of her friends from the same party fell ill shortly after she did. Three days after the party, she said, she was "feeling tired, body aches, getting a headache, feeling a little bit feverish," reports CNN.
The 37-year-old woke up from a nap with a 101-degree fever, and "by the time I went to bed, it had soared to 103 degrees," she went on. Initially, she thought that it was a nasty flu because she did not have any symptoms of coronavirus at that time. She didn't have a cough, no shortness of breath, no respiratory symptoms at all.
However, she knew that this was serious when a dozen of her friends who went to the same party fell sick almost "at the exact same day, roughly around the same time in the evening, with very similar symptoms."
It is noteworthy that even after Seattle being the epicenter of COVID-19 in the US, Schneider and her friends weren't tested. Their doctors thought they had the flu, but the flu tests were negative.
"At this point, we were all getting a little frustrated that they weren't allowed to be tested for coronavirus, or the doctor wasn't even suggesting" they be tested for it, Schneider said.
After her friend told her about a Seattle flu study where they can participate by signing up online and sending nasal swabs from a kit that's part of the study, they found out the truth. Recently, she said, they started testing for coronavirus, too, and "that's how I ultimately found out."
Schneider said she recovered after staying home, resting and taking over-the-counter medications. However, this might not be advisable for others considering many might have several other health conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. She had age and good health on her side which might have been instrumental in her recovery. "I think the big takeaway I want to tell everyone is: Please don't panic," Schneider said. "If you are healthy, if you are younger, if you take good care of yourself when you're sick, you will recover, I believe. And I'm living proof of that."
Now, she has joined hands with the local organizations that are trying to help people in Seattle tackle the crisis.
However, a blind eye cannot be turned to the fact that the virus has claimed many lives globally. "The grim reality is that, for the elderly, Covid-19 is almost a perfect killing machine," American Health Care Association President Mark Parkinson told CNN.
Therefore, it important to stay on top of things and keep yourself updated with the right information from verified health organizations. If we all work together, we will hopefully get through this crisis. In the meantime, don't forget to pray for the families who are stuck in isolation wards of hospitals away from their families and the medics who are risking their own lives to save others'.
Disclaimer: Information about COVID-19 is swiftly changing, and Women Working is committed to providing the most recent and verified updates in our articles and reportage. However, considering the frequency in developments, some of the information/data in this article may have changed since the time of publication. Therefore, we encourage you to also regularly check online resources from local public health departments, the Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization.
References:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/12/health/coronavirus-survivor-elizabeth-schneider/index.html
