When and where did he get Covid-19 viral disease? Xiao Yao, a 27-year-old young man, says he has no idea. But he strongly suspects the journey he made at the end of January, in a train crowded with travelers, in order to return to spend the Lunar New Year celebrations at his home in Jingzhou. In this small town in Hubei (center), the province at the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, he spent New Years Eve on 24 January in the family of a friend.
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“All of a sudden, my body became hyper-hot. I started to panic, ”he told AFP. The coronavirus then already made the headlines. And acquaintances who live in Wuhan, the nearby big city where the virus first appeared in December, tell him terrible stories of sick people. "But I didn't want to go to the hospital. I thought it was the best place to catch the virus if we don't already have it, ” says Xiao Yao.
His first reflex however: to move away from his friend's child, so as not to contaminate him. The young man then wants to go back to his parents in the neighboring town. But this is impossible, as many parts of Hubei have already been de facto quarantined and the road to their homes is blocked.
Bat
Xiao Yao then decides to sleep in a hotel. He spends almost a week in the establishment. His only meals: instant noodles, for lack of shops and restaurants open in the vicinity. The young man swallows fever medication and sees a doctor online. The latter tells him that he may have developed a respiratory infection.
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"I was really freaked out. I thought about calling the police so the local authorities could come and help me, ”said Xiao Yao. He said he finally gave up because he was not absolutely sure he caught the Covid-19. One night, the young man thinks he is hallucinating when he sees something flying in his hotel room. The next morning, he understands that it is actually ... a bat - the animal suspected by scientists to be the source of the virus, which has already infected more than 75,000 people in China .
Finally, the authorities shut down the hotel. Xiao Yao, suffering from a strong cough, then returned to his friend. He has meanwhile become feverish. Together, they therefore decide to go to a makeshift hospital installed in a factory because of the epidemic. They are treated with infusions, antivirals and traditional Chinese medicine. On February 4, the much feared diagnosis fell: Xiao Yao is well contaminated with the new coronavirus.
"Psychologically, I was really bad. Because because of me, my friend was infected, and his family was quarantined ... "
Xiao YaoHe grits his teeth, despite the very spartan conditions in the hospital. “I couldn't shower for more than 20 days. We didn't even have towels, ”he says. "The food smelled of disinfectant that made me want to throw up." To make matters worse: Xiao Yao also becomes the target of rumors in his friend's village. "People said that I had transferred, been cremated, or that my friend had invited me on purpose to contaminate the local population," he explains. "Psychologically, I was really bad. Because because of me, my friend was infected, and his family was quarantined ... "
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Xiao Yao was finally released from hospital on Wednesday after a negative test, a sign of his recovery. He has been transferred by the authorities to a quarantine center where he will remain for a few days. Like other ex-patients, he says he wants to donate blood plasma, which as part of an experimental treatment will be transfused to patients with coronavirus in order to reduce their viral load. The young man now plans to quit his job in a media in Chengdu (southwest) and return to live in his province, to be closer to his family. "I no longer want to struggle far from here," he explains.
