The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
AFTER testing positive for Covid-19 in its early days in Zimbabwe and subsequently being cleared of the virus, a Bulawayo woman, referred to as Case #16 (Bulawayo) by the Ministry of Health and Child Care says her predicament has left her with problems as she reintegrates into the society.
Case #16 tested positive together with four of her family members who were also cleared although she took longer to recover.
Sunday News visited the woman who was going about her daily chores at her home and she narrated how she has pulled through.
Stigma and continued self-isolation
“I am happy that I recovered although much later than the rest of the family but the treatment from outside has not been good because of social media stories that were initially published about me. I am a person who sells vegetables and other things so now people who see me seem to question if I was really cleared and I am Covid-19 free. Even if I touch anything in shops, people who know me tend to be scared to equally touch the same thing so I am still isolating myself even after being healed,” she said.
Case #16 added: “I am removing myself from people outside because I can see that they are still uncomfortable with me but I have always been a person who is up and about selling things as this supplements my income a lot. I used to sell my vegetables from door to door and sometimes I sell at a local supermarket but now it has all changed, no one wants to buy as they all know me and this has been worsened by social media reports that I was deliberately spreading the virus after I tested positive. They do not trust me anymore as they feel maybe I still have the virus and may want to spread it to them. I feel that I am owed an apology for all the misinformation that was carried in the Press and social media about me because it painted a bad picture on my character as people assumed, I was spreading this virus willingly.”
Returning to work and counseling
Asked on how she has managed to to go back to work she said fellow workers have been accommodating.
“Returning to work was greater than I thought. I was cleared on 24 June 2020 and returned to work on the 28th. They asked me if I was able to come back to work and I agreed as I did not want to be sitting at home yet I had recovered. I have no problems at work. I was embraced well.
“I received counseling when I returned to work which helped me a lot because I am a people’s person and there was general feeling that maybe people would joke about the virus with me and it would affect me but I was prepared for that and the people have not said anything hurtful to me and they seem to also have been educated in my absence.”
Case #16 said her being down with Covid-19 has enabled her to use those lessons to assist others who are affected and educate them on the virus.
“People actually want to know how I have been coping and how I overcame the virus and how I am coping outside work and home environment. Workmates are learning a lot from me as they come and ask about how I was feeling when I was infected, how I fought the disease and all the concoctions that I would inhale and ingest during that period. I am sharing my story at work to support other people who have had relatives who tested positive so that they remain optimistic. I also encourage cleanliness, sanitizing and social distancing as those are the things that can keep people safe.”
Life at an isolation centre
Case #16 was admitted to an isolation centre at one point after her family had been cleared and she was still positive.
“It was not a good experience, it was painful, it was cold, we had no hot water which was essential in our healing. I had to ask to be returned home to self-isolate as conditions were not very conducive for me. I was brought back home after spending some time at the centre and they inspected my home to see if I could isolate from there as I waited for total healing. My home was given an all clear and I finished off that isolation period in the comfort of my home,” she said.
She added; “Isolation centres do need help from what I witnessed, Covid-19 patients need to be warm, so hot water is vital, hot meals too.
Individuals and corporates need to assist in capacitating these centres because we are the same people that will be admitted there so we must try and make it conducive.”
Life after her Covid-19 ordeal
After healing Case #16 said to prevent any recurrence of infection, she is still following what she was taught by health officials.
“Covid-19 is real, it is there wherever we go but I have maintained what I was doing while I was infected which is practicing good hygiene everywhere be it at work or home. This will ensure that I do not get infected again as I am a health worker.”
She said people also fail to recover because of stigma as people will be lacking support from family, friends and neighbours.
“Counselling, love, care and food are essential for patients because Covid-19 does not only affect you physically but also psychologically so these need to be kept in balance and one can live well and heal.”
She said people using public transport need to be educated more as they seem to be missing the point.
“I was boarding a bus going back home and people were crowded, I tried in vain to tell them to maintain social distance but they all shut me out and some even said Covid-19 was only affecting health workers until I told them I was a survivor. They quickly moved away from me and started to stand away from each other. So, such things show that education is still lacking among the population,” she said.
Moving forward, Case #16 said education is important in fighting the virus.
“Nobody goes out there looking for the virus to infect them, as it is, we were told to stay home and hide until this virus passes, people must do that to avoid being infected. I was unfortunate in that I am a health worker and got infected, so people must take in as much information as they can and I hope people use social media platforms constructively in future,” she concluded.-@NyembeziMu
