Grace Osewe: I tested positive for Covid, but...

As someone who has been working on prevention, diagnosis, contact tracing and treatment of tuberculosis cases, I know something about the patterns of communicable diseases.

That knowledge has come in handy for me during this coronavirus pandemic. I have spent time researching common approaches to the prevention and management of Covid-19 over the past several months. Aside from protocols laid out by government experts for us to follow, I have also come up with certain remedies for strengthening my own immunity. And yet, like many Kenyans, there are things I still find confusing about this virus.

This is my story. A couple of weeks ago, my husband, who has been away since the beginning of the virus outbreak, informed me that he planned to come home as soon as international flights resumed.

I told him that I would have to quarantine him in a separate room for 14 days when he got to Nairobi. It was a tease, and you can imagine his response. As a compromise, we agreed to both take the Covid-19 test ahead of his travel. Neither of us had shown any symptoms, but since the majority of those that are infected are asymptomatic, we wanted to be sure, just in case.

Three genes tested

I, therefore, called the Ministry of Health (MoH) hotline to find out where I could get tested around my neighbourhood. They referred me to an accredited laboratory where I got a test for Sh8,150. I was surprised the cost was much higher than what government representatives had announced, but that is another story.

I was informed that my results would be emailed to me within 48 hours. When I had still received nothing after 72 hours, I called the customer service line and was told that my email address had bounced. They promised to resend the results immediately. I was shocked when I read the attachment with my results:

“SARS-CoV-2 ** POSITIVE ** SINGLE GENE ONLY POSITIVE.” Sars-CoV-2 is the virus that causes Covid-19.

The results were positive for only one of the three genes tested. This mixed diagnosis was strange. I blinked several times. According to the footnotes, MoH guidelines considered this an “indeterminate” result, and so I wondered, do I have Covid-19 or not? I did not expect to deal with this. What I had presumed was that I would either test positive or negative, not this muddle result. I decided to interpret the results as positive.

The MoH guidelines advised a retest in 24-48 hours if I showed any symptoms, otherwise after seven days. As might be expected, I did not sleep much that night. The thought that I had Covid-19 and could develop full-blown, life-threatening symptoms sent shivers down my spine.

A number of things went through my mind: the fear of getting ill, especially during curfew, sending my husband and children — who are also away — into panic mode, as well as possible hospitalisation.

As a Christian, I immediately began praying, seeking God’s providence over my health, and His guidance through this new territory. As I watched the evening news, I wondered whether I had been included in the number of infections reported for that day. Was I now a Covid-19 statistic?

I called my husband, who tried his best to encourage me and remind me of the fact that the majority of infected people have zero to mild symptoms. He advised me to retest at a different facility. I decided to go into isolation, and to review my recent contacts.

 I reasoned that if the indeterminate result was due to a virus level that was too low to detect and not an error, then I was not likely to have been infectious for more than two days prior to the test.

The day after the test, I had lunch with a dear friend, whose father recently had a stroke and was recovering at his home. The thought that I could have exposed him to the virus, and by extension, his father and the nurse aide, kept me up at night. I called to let him know that my Covid-19 test was “presumptive” positive and that he should isolate himself, and especially stay away from his father until further notice.

Underlying conditions

The next order of business was to figure out the urgent things I needed to put in order over the next few days, preparing for a worst-case scenario in the event that I got hospitalised.

With no obvious underlying conditions and determined to beat the virus, I adopted a combination of alternative and mainstream therapies to mitigate any symptoms that could necessitate my hospitalisation.

I fast regularly for spiritual purposes, but I also know that fasting has therapeutic effects on health, including ridding the body of unwanted toxins and pre-empting potential inflammation.

To support my immune system, I continued to take warm fluids, vitamin and mineral supplements, and bone soup. I started steaming with eucalyptus twice a day, gargling with salt water, and practising breathing exercises.

I continued with my daily walk for exercise (with Leslie Sansone’s Walk at Home videos). I also stocked up on a basic package of medicines recommended for fever, mild aches, and other flu symptoms.

Additionally, since the outbreak of the pandemic, I have been diligent in observing all the prevention measures, including social distancing, wearing a mask, hand-washing, using sanitiser and other hygienic practices. 

And even though I showed no Covid-19 symptoms in the days after, I did not wait for seven days before retesting.

What happened next? Find out tomorrow.