WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2020) Texas resident Vivian Martin, 21, of Houston told Sputnik she tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), but she outlined the struggle she has had with the bureaucracy of the testing and quarantine process that seemed more of a challenge than the illness itself.
COVID-19 affects infected individuals differently, ranging from mild to fatal. Recent trends show younger people have stronger immune systems against the virus, but individuals of older age or with underlying health conditions face more life-threatening situations.
"Yes, there have been many problems with administration and bureaucracy, especially because I believe I was tested right at the tail end of my infection," Martin said. "I believe I have now been negative for a few days, but now that I am caught up in the procedures of it all, it's difficult to receive the confirmation test and go home."
Martin was in the middle of a student exchange program in the United Kingdom that was cut short in March due to the pandemic. She took a test for the virus a day after arriving from London on March 23, which came back negative after a five-day wait.
However, Martin took a second test on April 2 after she developed mild COVID-19 symptoms. On April 6, she was confirmed COVID-19 positive.
"The only thing that kept me from being too scared of my symptoms is that I didn't have a terrible cough and I didn't have too much trouble breathing - especially nothing more than I am used to with my asthma," Martin said.
Martin said she feels almost 100 percent recovered and has been fever-free since March 28, but she has been struggling to get the clear from health officials to return home.
Martin's mother has a history of Lyme disease and respiratory issues and could be at risk if Martin is still carrying the virus.
"We want to be 100 percent sure I am negative before I return home, so waiting on the health department has been difficult," Martin said. "It has been quite a process, from speaking with the clinic that tested me, to the public COVID-19 hotline in my county, to the nurse's station, to the epidemiologist, to the supervisor. And of course it also includes waiting for people to return my calls."
Under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, infected people can come out of quarantine if they have been fever-free for 72 hours and symptoms have disappeared for more than 7 days or if they received two negative tests in a row, 24 hours apart.
Martin said she is currently quarantined in a hotel room in the Houston area provided by Texas A&M University, where she is a student, after they heard about her situation.
Martin did not wait for more than five days to get results back, but she did get a glimpse of the strain the pandemic is having on the health care system.
"I did attempt to be tested in a drive-thru clinic on April 1st, and that definitely was overwhelming," Martin said. "Their max testing amount was 200 patients per day and they had hit that maximum by 8:00 [a.m.], before their gates even opened. The cars were lined down the parking lot. They advised me to try to come the next day by 5 or 6:00 [a.m.] to guarantee a spot in testing."
Instead, Martin was able to find an alternative option where she made an appointment at a testing site after being screened online, which she found more efficient.
There are no therapeutics or vaccines for COVID-19, so Martin relied on vitamins like zinc, magnesium, Vitamin C and D, and other immune support supplements to get her though the illness.
Archana, 21, of the state of Virginia has also gone through a strenuous experience with COVID-19 related bureaucracy. Although she ended up testing negative, she told Sputnik that she had to wait for about two weeks to get back results.
"My main concern has been the awful testing system," Archana said. "[President Donald] Trump and higher up politicians knew about this in January. We could have been well prepared."
Archana said she began to develop novel coronavirus-like symptoms days after a trip to San Francisco on March 8-14.
"Severe headache, body aches, cough, sore throat, and severe asthma," Archana said. "Eventually after telling my dad, he had me set up a tele-appointment with my doctor. I talked to her on Saturday [March 21] and she advised me to go the ER to get tested and to get a chest X-ray because of my asthma."
Initially told results would be available in at least five days, Archana did not get results until 12 days later.
"It was just annoying because we all hear about the celebrities and wealthy politicians who get their results with minimal symptoms and a fast turnaround," Archana said. "Whereas for a normal citizen like me, it takes almost two weeks."
The US public has criticized several Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes who have done rapid testing for COVID-19 even when showing no symptoms. When Trump was asked about famous people getting expedited testing, he said "perhaps that's been the story of life."
Archana said there are many people in her situation who may not have the luxury to self-quarantine because they are in circumstances where they cannot afford to miss work or have other responsibilities to maintain.
US officials have said more than 2 million tests have been conducted and less than 100,000 deaths are expected in the United States.
The US Federal government has rolled out three coronavirus emergency relief packages worth more than $2 trillion to provide Americans relief. However, the rollout of the relief is taking a while because of the bureaucracy. Americans are expected to receive stimulus checks next week, some possibly waiting 20 weeks.
The United States has more than 492,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 18,300 associated deaths as of Friday evening, according to data from the John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
