Dr Amara Allison, the medical practitioner who detected Nigeria’s index case of the novel virus on February 27, has shared her experience during the 14-day quarantine period she had to observe having been exposed to the 44-year-old Italian man.
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Allison, who was on duty on that day at a medical centre in Ewekoro area of Ogun State, had ordered that the Italian be isolated upon examination.
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The patient had turned up with flu-like symptoms but Allison had just diagnosed Nigeria’s first COVID-19 patient.
The doctor alongside four health workers and 35 other people, who had been in contact with the Italian, were later placed on a two-week mandatory quarantine, according to the protocols of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
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Allison said she busied herself studying, watching movies and engaging in physical exercises during her quarantine period, adding that her family was a pillar of support for her.
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Sharing her experience with the World Health Organisation African Region team, she said, “I woke up on day three, and I just couldn’t get out of bed. That was the day the protective shock wore off. I was now unavoidably afraid. This point was where I realized the importance of a support system
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“The psychological trauma was my greatest challenge, just being with my thoughts alone for 14 days, good, bad, ugly. I also had to deal with the accompanying boredom and missing real human contact. It hit me really badly because aside from all that was going on, I am a very physically active person and I couldn’t be that during this period
She said her organisation sent in psychologist to check on all those quarantined, adding that the WHO team in Nigeria also supported her.
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“By my fifth day in, I learned to dispel my boredom and persistent anxiety with movies and books. I’m a fitness enthusiast and as difficult as it was for me to muster the mental energy to workout, whenever I did eventually workout, it lifted my mood significantly and left me feeling healthier.
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“ Having several means of entertainment would remedy these to an extent. The power of a good support system cannot be over-emphasised, but overall maintaining a positive outlook as much as possible is imperative to getting through any quarantine period,” she said.
