ginger tea

As we go into day 2 of self-imposed isolation, because my husband has diabetes and hence is in the risk category, and my body has decided to get spring allergies aka hay fever at this exact time, I’ve been thinking about people like me with seasonal allergies. How do we survive in public if we display similar symptoms but are harmless?

Symptoms of Hay Fever:

Spring makes me sneeze, have itchy eyes, inflamed sinuses,  runny nose and an itchy throat that makes me cough. My eyes also get puffy, I get a headache sometimes and I wake up with a general sense of zombie-ness (like today). Ginger tea with turmeric and essential oils have been life-savers!

street art of Dr Li Wenliang
Street art of Dr Li Wenliang, the doctor who first warned the world about the existence of the new Coronavirus.

Symptoms Of COVID-19

COVID-19 also has similar symptoms like runny nose, cough, fever.

So essentially hay fever is harmless and I can’t transmit it to others, but COVID-19 will most definitely be transmitted to others.

I keep picturing being out in public, and sneezing. I don’t think I’d feel safe to actually sneeze because while I might know my symptoms, how can anyone else? I wouldn’t want to be labelled crazy like the lady from yesterday’s incident.

I guess I’m just thinking out loud.

Remembering This Hero

Also taking a moment to remember this hero – Dr. Li Wenliang the Chinese doctor at Wuhan Central Hospital who on 30 December 2019 warned fellow colleagues about a possible outbreak of an illness that resembled severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), later acknowledged as COVID-19.