The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
ON Friday last week I got tested for Covid-19 and the results were negative. We had been instructed to go and get screened as part of regulations set by the Government in order to ensure safety at the workplace.
My three workmates and I bundled ourselves in a car and went for screening at a Bulawayo health facility. We got to the provider and our details were recorded and we were directed to a tent for the actual testing.
There we were, sitting on a wooden desk and chair just like the ones in high school waiting for the lady designated to conduct the tests. She appeared clad in a white suite (Personal Protective Equipment) complete with goggles and latex gloves. She said “hi” and asked for my hand, she even chuckled and said I must not be afraid, it was going to be a small prick. She went on to prick me and put a few blood drops into the Covid-19 cassette and added a clear liquid to the blood.
As she was walking away, she just said, “One line negative, two lines positive” and she walked to a bin where she removed her latex gloves, threw them inside and waited for the next person. That was the shortest horror story I have ever encountered in my life.
Was I going to just wait for results of a Covid-19 nature just like that? I felt I was not prepared to receive the results considering the seriousness of the virus in question, without any pre-counselling. There was no counselling of any sort, it is my belief that any life changing results like that of Covid-19 need to find one prepared and this can be done through pre and post-test counselling.
Even with a dreaded HIV test, one is counselled as they await their results, be they positive or negative, but here I was forced to wait for the results unprepared. Had they been positive! It was a harsh moment of uncertainty as I waited for the “lines” to appear. Believe you me, it was the longest three minutes of my 31 years, 11 months and 13 days of existence.
My life since the onset of Covid-19 seemed to flash before my eyes, I began to recall the times I bent lockdown regulations of not wearing a mask here and there and the days my colleagues and I would meet up and be merry without practising social distancing. I had flashbacks of the unnecessary trips I made into the Central Business District putting myself at risk. I quickly said a repentance prayer.
I even recalled the words of Professor Solwayo Ngwenya who said to me “if you move, the virus also moves but if you stay at home the virus does not affect you”. And all along I had been moving “searching” for the virus! I swear I wanted to cry but I just had to wear a cheerful face while my heart was probably beating five times faster than normal.
My mind switched itself to positive mode where I was now trying to figure out where and how I could have contracted the virus, this was because the test came at the “wrong” time as I had been feeling like my throat was burning in the past few days, accompanied by a small cough, so my assumption was I could have been positive.
I recalled going for an assignment where five family members tested positive for the virus and I assumed maybe I could have contracted it there during the interview.
I had on several times visited Mpilo Central Hospital and the National TB Reference Laboratory where samples were being tested for Covid-19 and thought it could have been there where “I got” this virus. My mind continued to race because of all the exposure I had while on duty since the beginning of the lockdown.
More recently, I visited a friend who has a trucking business and actually sat in one of the haulage trucks pretending to drive it, I began to recall news stories of long-distance truck drivers being drivers of the virus as they carry undesignated passengers across the borders. I thought to myself, could I have touched a contaminated steering or door handle and got it?
In my mind I even “accused” my gym instructor of being a reckless man, of bringing the virus to me during training despite sanitising all equipment every session. I basically saw everyone as a potential threat. The fear grew more and more each second, of where I had “contracted” Covid-19 and I had no one to tell these stories of possible exposure because there were no counsellors to allay some of my fears.
I was ready to accept my fate of being Covid-10 positive. I was however, distraught as I thought I could have potentially infected my hypertensive mother who also has hyperthyroidism, which are underlying conditions which make it easy for Covid-19 to breed.
I visualised people banishing us from the community after we tested positive, the trauma of changing our way of life because of this virus and so much more. The words of Prof Ngwenya haunted me again “Covid-19 is an efficient killer” he said to me in an interview. I wanted the ground to swallow me at that very moment, I was more than scared of death and started visualising how my funeral was going to go.
However, after those two or three minutes which felt like eternity, the result was negative. I could feel sweat dripping from my armpits, it was not an easy wait. Nonetheless, I believe the Ministry of Health and Child Care and all service providers who are offering this great testing service must consider counselling services for those who will be tested in order to prepare them for whatever the outcome of their test.
Covid-19 positive results can potentially lead one to suicide if not handled well.
After knowing my results, I felt I needed at least two face masks and a PPE suit to keep myself safe! Remember to wear a mask, sanitise and keep a safe distance from the next person. #covid-19isreal. — @NyembeziMu
