Isolated coronavirus patient speaks out saying he needs two negative tests before he can leave hospital – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Isolated coronavirus patient speaks out saying he needs two negative tests before he can leave hospital




An isolated coronavirus patient in the Republic of Ireland using the false name “Paul” spoke to Claire Byrne on Claire Byrne Live last night from his hospital bed.

The man, who is one of 24 confirmed Corvid-19 cases in Ireland, spoke about being diagnosed with coronavirus after he spent one full day in work not realising that he had it.

He said that he had spent a couple of days  abroad on a short trip before he “started to have a little bit of fever”.

“I didn’t have any respiratory problem, any lung inflammation, any cough, any sneezing so [it] was just the fever but again based on the fact I was abroad I preferred to self-isolate myself anyway because I was not sure if it was safe to go around. But I didn’t have any severe symptoms. I actually feel great now.”

He said that when he felt unwell, he decided to self-isolate himself.

“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 test being positive and an ambulance brought me to the hospital.”

He alluded to people coming into his house wearing heavy protective clothing.

After finding out he had tested positive for Covid-19, the patient said it was less than an hour before he was taken to hospital.

“So basically the HSE called me back and they notified me. They had a lot of questions about people I was in contact with, about my co-workers, and these kind of things just to understand if someone else could have got the virus from me.”

“Within one hour, an ambulance was at my place and they picked me up and they drove me to the hospital very quickly.”

He said that he had to tell health authorities where he had worked, visited and who he was in contact with. He said that he’s now in a private room watching films and reading all day.

“I am being tested every day for coronavirus and when I test negative for two consecutive days, it means I will be free of the virus and I can go back home but I’m not sure when that will be”.

“I think it depends on person to person”, he said in relation to how long it will take to get out of his system. “I am just waiting here and hope that it will happen soon.”

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