I've contracted COVID-19

Last Saturday, I woke up feeling inexplicably tired. I had no cough or sore throat then, so I thought it was just exhaustion from taking on too much work.

By mid-afternoon, I was feeling foggy and began to get chills. Sensing something was wrong, I contacted my family and went home. I tried a COVID-19 test kit and, with bated breath, checked the result - it was negative. What a relief.

I still had a low-grade fever. As the chills intensified, I wondered if it was a cold or the flu. To be sure, I isolated myself in my room, collapsed into my futon, and spent most of the day in bed.

On Sunday, I stayed in my room all day. While my general lethargy seemed to lessen, my cough and sore throat worsened, and I began to feel a sharp pain around the inside of my ear. I quietly spent the day wondering if I had the flu or the symptoms were mild because I had been vaccinated.

On Monday morning, the cough and sore throat persisted and felt worse. Something seemed wrong. I tried the test kit again, and to my surprise, the result was positive. Just to be sure, I repeated the test, and again, it confirmed that I was positive for COVID-19.

I had planned a week full of meetings, research sessions, business trips, and student mentoring, but I had to cancel everything. When I apologized to everyone involved via email and Slack, they advised me that it was probably just exhaustion. They encouraged me to rest, for which I am grateful.

Still, it’s a small blessing that it happened after the teaching period had ended. I’m also relieved that none of my family members have shown signs of infection so far, which makes me thankful that I didn’t let my guard down after the initial false negative.

So here I am, recuperating at home for a few more days.