Took exams from hospital, says Chandigarh’s first Covid case

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 7

As the fear of rising Covid deaths and surge in mental health issues has gripped every citizen of the country, the 23-year-old UK returned woman, who was the first Covid case of the city, did not succumb to the hysterics around the disease and appeared for her exams through an online mode for the course she has been studying in London.

“I appeared for my university exams as we have to be graduated by July. I attended online classes as my college in the UK is still on,” said the Sector 21 resident. “I am very relaxed now and it is good to move around at home. I will do some cooking at home for my family,” she said.

Virus came as normal flu

Covid-19 can cause a wide range of symptoms depending on the age and body immunity levels. For me the first symptom was fever, with slight body ache. This lasted for two days, followed by mild cough. On Day 3, I had cold, which lasted for three days.

Apart from that I was asymptotic till the end. However, my mom had fever and severe body ache for 3 days. She also had cold and cough for 2-3 days following the fever. Other than that we didn’t face breathlessness, or chest pain. The virus came as a normal flu, and went. Just that it takes a lot of perseverance as it takes days to test negative.

Still taking precautions

The Covid survivor shared that the family members are still taking a lot of precautions at home. “All three of us had been tested positive and we don’t want to take a risk as my father is diabetic. We are still maintaining distance at home. We are still in different rooms and using different washrooms.”

Family support crucial

Covid has taught life lessons to many us. The survivor shared, “I felt lonely for a couple of days when my family members were discharged before me. I realised that to overcome such a difficult situation, you need positive people around you. Any battle can be won with your people besides you.”

She added, “Whenever I felt disheartened, I used to call my friends and family and they would keep me in high spirits. My friends ensured that no pessimistic remarks whatsoever reach me. They made a protective layer around me.”

Fought rumours

She said, “I didn’t realise I was infected. The symptoms were akin to common flu and I felt it will go. Later, rather than fighting the virus, I was fighting rumours and fake news linked with me. Things got a little better when my mom and I got in the same room.”

The hospital staff even congratulated me when I was being discharged. Everyone was really caring and I started knowing them by their names towards the end.

“Treat Covid as a normal disease. It is not in anyone’s hand. There is no point, treating the Covid patients as untouchables”, she said.