My experience with Covid-19
- Patricia Kudzai Mashiri
- Apr 2, 2020
- 3 min read
By Patricia Mashiri

To borrow from Wilber Smith Africa is a continent of harsh realities, where extreme heat follows intense cold without rhythm or reason. When I first heard about Corona Virus in December 2019 I never imagined that one day, someday, some hour we will experience some dangerous, bloodthirsty and scary virus on our door steps from the East.
I got a call from a friend who is based in China telling me that they were unable to attend lectures because of the deadly disease. The numbers of people affected by it were increasing on a daily basis therefore they were now staying indoors in trying to reduce the spread of the virus. Hearing this I just thought the Chinese government were exaggerating the situation.
When the Corona Virus epidemic broke out in many parts of the Europeans countries I never imagined Africa will record a single case of the Covid -19 just like Ebola which never reached Zimbabwe I thought we will just hear it from another countries. One day I woke up to the news that Africa had recorded its first Corona Virus case. The reality hit me hard thinking that the disease was coming home that’s when I started researching more about the disease. Luckily I belong to one of the Zimbabwe’s Health Reporter’s Whatsapp group where Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) officials send updates about Corona virus. From that time going forward I became a researcher wanting to know more about the novel Corona Virus.
On 20 March 2020 in the evening the MoHCC released a statement that Zimbabwe had recorded its first Covid -19 Case. The patient was a 38 year old Caucasian male resident of Victoria Falls who had travelled to Manchester, UK on the 7th of March 2020 and returned via South Africa. The first thing that came to my mind was within a week we were going to be all dead. I was worried about the country’s health delivery system and the numbers of mortalities which were recorded from Spain and Italy.
I texted my boyfriend who had travelled to Zaka, Masvingo. ‘Babe did you hear that we recorded our first Corona Virus Case?’ because I’m the one who is always telling him what’s happening around. His first text message to me early in the morning was “Yavepi” meaning where? I knew he was as scared as I was because of the obvious reasons- the country’s health delivery system. We all knew we were not ready for this pandemic.
Few days later rumours started circulation on social media before the MoHCC official statement that there was a second Covid-19 Case and the case was in Harare and everyone was urged to stay home to curb the spread of the virus. I was very worried because I knew this was going to negatively affect my little business. It was then reported that the patient who was admitted at Wilkins hospital (the second case, broadcaster Zororo Makamba had succumbed to Covid- 19).
This was like a wake- up call to all Zimbabweans that’s when I realised that I was not alone we were all scared of this disease. After the death of Zororo, the stories about how ill-equipped the Wilkins Infectious hospital was which came from the family worsened my fears. I became paranoid.
I researched for signs, symptoms and remedies to prevent the spread of the Corona Virus. I reached the conclusion that I was corona free as I wasn’t in contact with anyone who had recently travelled.
My boyfriend came back from Masvingo and wasn’t feeling too well, I was worried that he had somehow have been in contact with someone who had corona virus since he had travelled for a funeral and we all know how people from different parts of the country travel for funerals.
I wrote down all the Corona virus symptoms from the internet and from the testimonies I heard comparing them with the symptoms he had. I was now acting as a health professional as he always calls me Doc.He was too scared. Too anxious as he thought he was going to die since the virus has no cure but latter came to the conclusion that he had acids.
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