PR consultant with covid19: 'Wear your mask, follow the rules'

Not all covid19 patients experience severe symptoms, warns PR consultant Nyssa Pierre. Her only clue that she might be covid19-positive was that she briefly lost her sense of taste and smell.

“I had some congestion, but I thought I had a cold, or that the Sahara dust was affecting me, because I always have sinus issues. I've had colds with worse symptoms than this.

"It was when I lost my sense of taste last week that I decided to go and get tested. I went to a private lab because of the lag in testing in the public sector and I was worried about having been in contact with my parents.”

Pierre, who is from Port of Spain, got the results last Thursday and immediately went into self-isolation. She said her parents were tested and had negative results. She declined to say where she might have contracted the virus, although she said she had an idea as to where it might have happened.

She was taken to Caura Hospital on Sunday, although she was not told beforehand exactly when she would be picked up. She was admitted to a ward for two days, along with 21 other people, then, since she was not very sick, moved to UWI's Canada Hall on Tuesday. She said she expected to be there for at least another week, if not more.

“I’m happy to wait, as there are others who have been here longer than me and are still awaiting their results.

"There’s a welcoming atmosphere here. It’s almost like we’re all in this together so we might as well make the best of it.”

Pierre said the nurses and staff have been efficient and friendly but were definitely showing signs of strain.

“That’s why it’s important that people continue to wear masks and follow the protocols, so that we can get through covid19 faster. The quicker we flatten the curve, the quicker we can move people through the system, and the quicker those involved in running the system can go home.

"It’s not just the doctors and nurses, it’s the administrative staff and the ambulance driver, and everyone else that makes up the system.”