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Her cough turned out to be coronavirus. She’s sharing her story to bring awareness

She tweeted that it all started with “mild dry cough and a slightly sore throat” and a feeling of tiredness.

Updated on: Mar 21, 2020, 09:41:01 IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By
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The image shows an illustration created at CDC of coronavirus structure (representational image). (REUTERS)
The image shows an illustration created at CDC of coronavirus structure (representational image). (REUTERS)

Highlights

A woman who claims she has coronavirus shared her story on Twitter

The post details how her symptoms developed gradually

She shared the post to create awareness among others

A woman who claims she is infected with coronavirus and is under recovery shared her big takeaways from the situation on Twitter – and it’s something you should read. The 22-year-old resident of USA, named Bjonda Haliti, shared the thread on the micro-blogging site “to help bring awareness, and to relieve any stress/anxiety some may have due to the pandemic.”

She tweeted that it all started with “mild dry cough and a slightly sore throat” and a feeling of tiredness. The next day, the discomfort increased and she also felt chills with a mild fever. Her eyes troubled her the most as they were paining badly.

Initially she thought it’s a migraine and slept all day but the next day turned out even worse. She had fever, dry cough, migraine, chills, and nausea. On top of that, she had low energy and finally, decided to go to a doctor but was tested negative for flu and strep. She says the doctor told her it’s probably an infection and sent her home with anti-inflammatory medicine. Though her fever disappeared the next day, she developed a new problem - shortness of breath which is a symptom of coronavirus listed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Naturally, at this point she was scared and wanted to get tested for COVID-19. She finally got herself tested and waited for the result. In the meantime, she self-quarantined and started staying hydrated. All her previous symptoms continued but her doctor insisted that her vitals were “unmarkable.” Unconvinced, however, she insisted on more tests. After a few days, her lab results came back and she tested positive of coronavirus.

She says she is still in self-isolation, taking care of herself and following proper procedures as mentioned by USA’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her health is now better and the symptoms are gone too. However, Haliti mentioned she needs to take a retest in order to get a clean chit from doctors.

Bjonda Haliti ended her thread by saying that her direct messaging is open for anyone who has questions about the pandemic.

Read the thread here:

Since being shared, her post has received over 1.1 million hearts – and still counting. It was also retweeted for over 3.6 lakh times and received close to 10,000 people comments.

While most appreciated Haliti for sharing her story, a few others posed some questions. Many wished her a speedy recovery.

In another tweet on the same thread, Bjonda Haliti further shared a link to the CDC guidelines for people to know more about the novel coronavirus.

  • Trisha Sengupta
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Trisha Sengupta

    Trisha Sengupta is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of digital newsroom experience. Specialising in high-engagement storytelling, she blends viral trends with traditional journalism to cover the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. Her reporting spans real estate and personal finance struggles in hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the NRI experience, and corporate shifts like tech layoffs. Trisha also frequently tracks global figures and writes human interest stories. Offline, Trisha is an avid reader, history enthusiast and solo traveler. She balances her journalism career with family life while actively integrating AI tools into her modern storytelling approach.Read More