AN IRISHMAN who contracted coronavirus during a short trip abroad has described what it feels like to have the illness.
In an interview on Claire Byrne Live on Monday, the man described how a couple of days after he returned home, he developed symptoms akin to a fever and decided to self-isolate himself.
Once he grew wary that he might have contracted Covid-19, he informed the HSE.
"I went abroad for a short trip and then I came back to Ireland where I live," he explained.
"I felt okay for a couple of days, then I started to have a little bit of fever and given that I was abroad I decided to self-isolate myself and call [the HSE] and explain the situation.
"So what they did was send a medical officer to my apartment and the medical officer took a swab of my throat and nose. After 24 hours I was notified about the positivity of the test and an ambulance picked me up at my place and drove me to the hospital."
The man, who has decided to remain anonymous, stressed that the only symptom he had was a fever, and that he didn't even develop a cough.
"I didn’t have any severe symptoms, I actually feel great now. I had a fever for a couple of days and now from Friday, I don’t have any more symptoms and so I am just here in the hospital being tested for the virus," he added.
The patient also explained precisely what happens when you contact the HSE. The patient described how the medical professional arrived to his home in full protective gear and that the test itself lasted just a few minutes.
"That person came to my apartment and he was fully, let's say, dressed up. The actual test took less than five minutes, he came into the apartment, he was dressed up, he came to my bedroom because I was in my bedroom, he tested and then he went away. And again I was notified in 24 hours," he added.
Asked if he was worried when he heard he had contracted the disease, the patient said that because the virus is so new, he was "a little worried".
"It might be dangerous but at the same time most of the people recover and that is the official information that we have. So based on the facts, and that I am quite young, I was not scared", he stressed.
