Imagine being the first-ever person to have contracted the novel coronavirus, which has spread across the planet, infecting over half a million people and killing more than 25,000. How do you think they're feeling about all this?
"Patient Zero" has reportedly been identified as Wei Guixian, a 57-year-old shrimp vendor in the Huanan Market in Wuhan, China. She was among the first twenty-seven people to have ever tested positive for the virus, and is believed to be "patient zero." For the first time, she is speaking out about her own experience with coronavirus via the Wall Street Journal.
"I felt a bit tired, but not as tired as previous years. Every winter, I always suffer from the flu. So I thought it was the flu," said Wei.
She went to a local clinic where she received treatment for the flu before returning to work, effectively beginning the outbreak that has shut down the entire world. Her symptoms worsened before she decided to go to the hospital, where doctors could not figure out what was wrong. On December 16, she visited another hospital where it was determined that she was among many to have contracted the "ruthless" illness. Before finally being placed in quarantine, doctors determined that twenty-four of the twenty-seven cases they had seen came from the seafood market, also realizing that Wei was likely "patient zero."
She believes that she came into contact with the virus via a shared toilet with wild meat sellers. Wei has since made a full recovery from COVID-19.
In other coronavirus news, the United States officially has more confirmed cases than Italy and China.