How strict self-isolation spared a coronavirus patient’s family

When a 38-year-old teacher from Madaripur's Shibchar upazila started showing symptoms of coronavirus back in April 5, she immediately locked herself up in her room, fearing she was indeed infected.

She was self-isolating and doing it efficiently. The teacher shared a house with her elderly parents and brother, and wanted to make sure her family members don't get infected.

Two days after she started to show the symptoms, authorities from Madaripur Sadar Hospital collected her samples and on April 9 confirmed that she was infected with Covid-19.

On April 10, around 4:00am, she was taken to Madaripur Sadar Hospital and was treated for coronavirus till April 19. She was released on the 19th after her tests conducted at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) came out negative twice.

Recovery aside, it was what the teacher did right after she started showing symptoms that counts. Her rigorous measures -- both to protect herself and her family -- paid off.

"I was suspecting I might be infected with the virus but my symptoms were not severe. Still, I completely separated myself from my family members," she shared while talking to this correspondent over phone.

"I wanted to keep my family and neighbours safe. I started having tea, warm water and vitamin C enriched food, all the while never leaving my room. I even inhaled steam to help ease any congestion in my lungs," she added.

Her family wanted to see her though and insisted on it couple of times but she was steadfast.

And it did pay off eventually. On April 10, samples from her family members were also collected and sent for testing. 

The results came back negative on April 13, she said.

A nationwide shutdown has been enforced since March 26 in a bid to control the spread of coronavirus. And Madaripur's Shibchar upazila was among the first areas to go under lockdown, even before the government enforced shutdown was announced.