This is my first ever diary here, and it’s rather lengthy, even if most of it’s not even really mine. With her permission, here’s my friend’s account of her coronavirus experience here in London. It’s long, but well worth reading in full (anything in square brackets is my commentary):
After a holiday to Portugal alittle over 3 weeks ago, I developed a dry cough, temperature [fever] and muscle weakness. At first, I assumed it was just a common cold — I am not one to panic, and there had been no confirmed cases there at the time. As my symptoms started to get worse and coronavirus had started to spread more rapidly (including community contact in the UK), I called my GP surgery. I was told not to visit the surgery and to call NHS 111 [non-emergency medical helpline] instead, where an appointment was made for me to see a doctor at a different surgery over concerns that I might be infected with coronavirus. When I arrived I was surprised to see that it was just another GP surgery just like my own and I was requested to wait in the same area as other patients. During my appointment the doctor checked my temperature, oxygen levels and lungs, said that he can’t tell me if I have the coronavirus or not, but that I probably don’t, and then signed me off work for 7 days with a “viral illness”. My partner still went to work to cover lectures at [a London University] and do his research, and my children went to school as per government guidelines.
After the 7 day period, I went back to work despite not feeling recovered. I went back to work because I am on a zero-hour contractwith a family to provide for, and because this was the advice of the GP. For the record, I am a mental health support worker at a residential home for elderly men. After being back at work for 2 days, my partner developed a temperature [fever], cough and muscle weakness, and so we both went back into isolation. Before taking my children to school on Monday morning, I checked with them if they wanted me to keep them at home, to which they said no, so I took them in. By Tuesday morning, however, government guidlines had changed, and so myslef, my partner and my children entered a 14 day self-isolation period. By the end of Tuesday, my children had both developed a cough. Bear in mind, while my children are not at school, schools across the country are open. While the school my children attend has set up Google classrom should they need to close, it is not up and running yet. My eldest is in Year 6 [roughly equivalent to 5th grade] and due to take his SAT exams [in England and Wales, national exams taken at several stages throughout schooling] in May. Therefore, while being ill, it is now mine and my partner’s duty to plan lessons to ensure that both of their education does not suffer and do our best to ensure the eldest can still pass his SATs.
My symptoms are not improving and are in fact getting worse (e.g. extreme headaches, breathessness, pain in shoulder, back and neck, pain in ears, feeling dizzy) and so after another night of being awake coughing and in pain, I called 111 again. I was informed that my symptoms do suggest coronavirus and that a nurse would call me back. A few hours later, I received a call back and the nurse told me I should call my GP surgery within the next hour and, in the meantime, sit upright, stay hydrated, take painkillers, call 999 if I faint or if my breathing gets worse, and that she would send the records of our conversation to my surgery. So, I called my GP. I was met with confusion and told “Yes, I am reading your notes, but I can’t see why you are calling us”. I reiterated that I was advised to do so by a 111 nurse and that I have been unwell for 3 weeks and I am only getting worse. I was then asked if they mentioned anything about testing me for coronavirus (to which the answer is no), because based on my symptoms and how long I’ve had them I probably have coronavirus. They put me on hold for a bit and then a doctor came on the phone. I was told, and I quote, “We can’t do anything. We aren’t even testing NHS workers”, “Go on the NHS website, we don’t know more than you” and “You are still able to talk, so you aren’t breathless”.
Due to the lack of testing and government action, through no fault of our own, we may well have passed it on to hundreds of people: from the school my children attend; the university my partner teaches in; the care home I work in; the public transport we have used; the shops we have visited.
So, while we are told to stay home, we cannot even get food delivered to us because there are no available slots for the next 2 weeks. We are living on takeaways even though we currently have only 1 income at the moment, as I can’t work, and if I don’t work, I don’t get paid.
#zerohourcontacts
On a more positive note, we are lucky to have a friend (who also happens to be an NHS nurse) who has just dropped off some painkillers to our door and has offered to pick up some household essentials for us. In addition, it makes me happy to know that I don’t only live among those who selfishly buy all of the toilet tissue, hand soap and pasta. I have seen many others on Facebook of people in my local area offering to help out those who are self-isolating, or who are most at risk. We should carry on working together and fighting the situation, but we also deserve a government wjich is responsible and can also adhere to the demands they place on us, in the sense of care, understanding, awareness, and honesty when it comes to tackling this situation, and start to follow the recommendations of the World Health Organisation.
However bad things seem from the official figures, the reality is worse. If my friend’s experience is anything near typical, the reality of the situation is likely much, much worse than official figures. And that is because the UK government, like US government, has got this very badly wrong and is only now starting to grasp the magnitude of the situation.
Excellent article from George Monbiot in The Guardian today on why our governments have been so very, very bad at responding to this crisis:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/18/politics-public-covid-19-tobacco-johnson
Stay safe, stay home if at all possible, keep your distance, and wash your hands properly and frequently.
And let’s do absolutely everything in our power to ensure that we elect officials at every level of government who are competent, and above all, who care about the wellbeing of everyone.