Overcoming fear in the coronavirus fight: A young professional’s story

“It’s a new disease… At first I was worried after catching a fever and experiencing breathing difficulties. But three or four days after my admission to the hospital, I gradually started overcoming those fears.”

That is how a young professional, who tested positive for the COVID-19 infection, described his experience. He is currently being treated in the isolation ward of a Dhaka hospital.

Emerging in China’s Wuhan in December, the novel coronavirus rapidly transformed into a global pandemic, spreading to over 200 countries and territories across the globe. Bangladesh reported its first cases of the coronavirus on March 8.

Since then, there have been 61 confirmed cases in the country with a death toll of six.

In an effort to shed light on the treatment and state of those infected with the virus and how they are coping with it, bdnews24.com spoke to the COVID-19 patient over the phone to glean an insight.

“I no longer have the symptoms that were there initially. Physically, I believe I’m healthy for the most part but I do feel a bit weak. I hope that’ll pass soon.”

The patient hasn’t had any visitors at the hospital although he has been in touch with his family over the phone.

The hospital is providing timely meals everyday while doctors and nurses are regularly checking up on him, he said.

“Sometimes I speak to the doctors and nurses but there’s no way to find out who’s in the next room. My room has an attached toilet. I’m not allowed to get out of the room.”

Some things haven’t changed as he still wakes up at the same time he did while at home. Apart from talking to his friends and family from his mobile phone, he is reading books to pass his time in isolation.

“I’ve brought quite a few books with me to the hospital which I’m reading now. There’s no television here so my mobile phone is the only source of news. I have to talk to my family members quite often as they are worried about me.”

He also offered a few words of encouragement for people who have recently been diagnosed with the infection.

“Young people aren’t greatly affected even if they catch the virus. The death rate among them is also low. But the older age groups are at risk. I’m not too worried as I’m still young. My message to everyone is there’s nothing to be fearful about so stay strong mentally.”

“The first few days can be a bit tough but things will get better after that.”

He has been tested twice for the coronavirus so far and even after the initial symptoms had abated, the tests nonetheless returned positive results.

“The virus is still in my body. Please pray that we recover and return home soon.”

Two nurses assigned to coronavirus patients also spoke to bdnews24.com about their experiences on condition of anonymity.

One of them, who works in a hospital dedicated to the treatment of COVID-19 patients, said the nursing staff at the facility is made up of 40 people. They are all performing their responsibilities diligently while the hospital has made special living and cooking arrangements for them, she said.

Initially, they were a little apprehensive about treating patients with the coronavirus as it’s a novel disease. But they have since tried to take all necessary precautions to avoid being infected.

“We can’t go in front of a patient without putting on our personal protective equipment (PPE). Even then it can be a bit scary but as professional health workers, it’s a part of the job.”

A senior staff nurse, who is working in the isolation unit of another hospital, said all doctors and staff at the facility have a good understanding of the disease and how it spreads. Nevertheless, they were quite fearful about treating it at first.

“You’re bound to be a little scared when working in such a place. But we must do our job and the responsibility that it entails, trumps all the concerns and fear of death," she said.

"We are now in the front line of the battle against the virus and there’s no turning back.”