Elizabeth Schneider, 37, from Seattle, Washington, recovered after contracting the new coronavirus and spoke about early symptoms.
To date, Washington has recorded the largest number of deaths - at least 30.
Schneider, who has a PhD in bioengineering, told Agence France-Press that she is sharing her story "to give people a little hope." She, like 80% of patients, suffered mild symptoms of the virus. The rest of the cases, which required hospitalization, mainly concerned citizens over 60 years old and those who already had diseases such as diabetes, heart disease or lungs.
She first began experiencing flu-like symptoms on February 25, Schneider said. Symptoms appeared three days after she attended the party. Later, 5 more people who were there were diagnosed with coronavirus.
“I woke up and felt tired, but it was nothing more than what you usually feel when you have to get up and go to work, and I was very busy last weekend,” she said.
At about noon, she felt a headache, fever and body aches. It was enough for her to go home in the middle of the working day.
She soon fell asleep, but woke up at night with a temperature of 39.4 ° C.
“And at that moment, I started shaking uncontrollably, and I started having chills and tingling in my limbs, so it was a little disturbing,” she said.
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Schneider mistakenly assumed she didn't have COVID-19 because she didn't have the usual symptoms like coughing or shortness of breath.
When she went to the doctor, she was told to go home, rest and drink plenty of fluids.
She began to suspect that she had something serious due to social media. A Facebook friend wrote that several people at the party had similar symptoms. All of them were not offered tests for coronavirus because they did not have common signs of coughing and shortness of breath.
On March 7, Schneider received a call with bad news: she tested positive for COVID-19.
Her symptoms had almost disappeared by the time she was diagnosed. Local health authorities have said to stay at home for at least 7 days after symptoms start or up to 72 hours after symptoms stop.
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An interactive online map of the spread of the coronavirus is here.