Melanie Verwoerd: 'Started with diarrhoea, then our taste and smell disappeared'
Writer and political commentator Melanie Verwoerd talks to Clement Manyathela about her family dealing with Covid-19.
Both my children have tested positive. I have very similar symptoms but my test results are delayed, so we assume I have it too.
Melanie Verwoerd, Author, political analyst and former MP
Her daughter has known she has the virus since last Monday.
In our case, my daughter was very, very ill. She had a very high fever for a long time and then a bad cough and tight chest. She got all the classic symptoms of Covid-19.
Melanie Verwoerd, Author, political analyst and former MP
We started with symptoms you are not hearing about. We all started with diarrhea, and then our taste and smells disappeared.
Melanie Verwoerd, Author, political analyst and former MP
RELATED: Loss of smell may be a Covid-19 symptom in otherwise asymptomatic people
My sons and I, unlike my daughter, did not have a high fever, in fact, no fever at all. We just had a really bad sore throat, and a bad head cold. And now only a week later is our chest very tight.
Melanie Verwoerd, Author, political analyst and former MP
You can have it and not even know you have it and that is what is so dangerous.
Melanie Verwoerd, Author, political analyst and former MP
She implores people not to go back to rural areas because they may be taking the virus with them and medical facilities there will not be able to cope. She says that is why the spread in France escalated, as people decided to go to their homes in the countryside.
If people can just stay put, as hard as it is over Easter, for the future of the country.
Melanie Verwoerd, Author, political analyst and former MP
Regarding testing, she says some private laboratories seem to be handling it better than others. She says the bottleneck seems to be with getting results back rather than with the swabbing process.
We self-isolate the moment we got sick but we were worried about others we had been in contact with.
Melanie Verwoerd, Author, political analyst and former MP
People must not go into panic mode.
Melanie Verwoerd, Author, political analyst and former MP
Listen to Melanie Verwoerd below:
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