[ Karen Mannering ] I’ve just been told that I have COVID-19
and I’m fighting for me and my baby
[ Alexander N. ] They came and bluelighted me away, as if I was about to die
[ Tiffany Pinckney ] They told me that I was
highly contagious. I kinda went into panic mode
[ Karen ] I cannot describe the pain on your chest,
the burning on your chest is was unbelievable
[ Tiffany ] I was on the floor somedays in my bathroom, you know, crying, praying,
[ Doctor ] Does it hurt? [ Svetlana Gritsenko ] Yes!
[ Doctor ] Done!
[ Alexander ] Total A-P-O-C-A-L-Y-P-S-E!
The dollar fell, coronavirus bombed us all. It reminds me of 'The Martian'
It feels as though you're sitting in prison
[ Karen ] There were so many times when I honestly thought this is it.
I have to do this now…push myself.
I’ve got to do this for me and the baby. I’ve got to. I gotta go now…
[ Marina Kosareva, correspondent ] We’re still on lockdown
here in Moscow and I’m continuing working from home...
this time around we’re making a film about coronavirus survivors
and I managed to speak to some of them to understand
what it’s really like to go through COVID 19.
First up we have Svetlana, a Russian woman who lives in Spain.
[ Svetlana Gritsenko ] In this area, I was one of the
first, there were 2 already. 2 in Reus, and 2 in Cambrils
In Tarragona, there was nothing
It was their first experience
They didn't know what to do, they were too slow and didn't expect it
[ Marina ] Next up there’s Karen. She’s in the UK.
Now, her case is special because she’s 6 months pregnant.
[ Karen Mannering ] Because I was pregnant it was difficult.
Maternity will only check the baby so they’re not looking out for me.
Then respiratory are scared what to do with me
because I’ve got a baby and that’s maternity side.
Even when I went into A&E they weren’t too sure where to put me and what to do.
I had to go on a Covid ward but they weren’t confident putting me on a Covid ward
because obviously I’m pregnant so if I didn’t have Covid I had a higher chance of contracting it
[ Marina ] Next up, we have Alexander, our traveller,
He returned to Moscow from Italy and right away he alerted the authorities.
[ Alexander ] The back story!
I flew to Verona on a film production trip
And when I came back, I was very sick, but
I was ill before, during and after Verona, so I didn't think much of it
[ Marina ] And finally, we have Tiffany...
our minister from the United States of America
[ Tiffany Pinckney ] In all honesty I did not think that I had coronavirus.
I thought it was maybe a severe sinus infection due to allergies.
[ Marina ] My baby woke up so I had to change locations.
Sorry about that. We are now in my kitchen.
Welcome. Right. So...
These are the people who will tell us what it’s like to have Covid-19.
Because many people still for some odd reason think that this virus mainly affects the elderly
or those with underlying health conditions.
Well that is not the case.
So let’s see what it’s really like to have Covid 19.
SYMPTOMS...
[ Svetlana ] You feel really weak, you can't even stand
Eye pressure rises, your bones ache and if you just roll over, it feels as though…
You just fall apart!
[ Alexander ] It knocked me into bed,
I couldn't move, I had a fever, it was tough
[ Karen ] Your taste buds go, your sense of smell
goes…everything slowly start deteriorating on you.
I was severely dehydrated
as well so no amount of fluids would keep me hydrated
[ Tiffany ] As time progressed it got worse...
It was just going downhill. I mean I was having chilling fever.
I didn’t have any sense of taste or smell...
there would be moments of fatigue…
there would be moments of weakness...extremely tired
[ Svetlana ] My husband was on his back, wiped out and vomiting
He took me to the nearest private clinic
[ Karen ] Two days later I was ringing 111, I was ringing my doctors, I was ringing everyone
[ Marina ] You have three kids at home…what was it like for them?
[ Karen ] Yeah that was absolutely heartbreaking
so what I’d done is when we called the ambulance the second time I
waited for my husband to put my daughter bathed her and put her to bed
because obviously I want her in bed, she doesn’t need to see it..
[ Alexander ] At the time, it was quite exclusive, there were literally 7 or 9 cases
of this disease
And...
They came and bluelighted me away, as if I was about to die
Even though I felt healthy
[ Tiffany ] Covid 19 was progressively increasing
so what they initially tested me for was influenza
and they said we’ll also test you for the coronavirus.
[ Alexander ] At 3 am I was woken up...
by banging on the door, it was someone in a kind of protective outfit,
a woman
She was struggling with a huge piece of equipment
An X-ray machine
[ Svetlana ] After the X-ray, they had to admit me urgently because of pneumonia, I asked...
if they'd test me for coronavirus
They just said, 'No'
At work, they said, 'If you have coronavirus, don't come in, until you get tested'
I was admitted on the 12th and on the 13th, schools were closed
The quarantine was so sudden. On March 8, we went out, joined rallies
That was… Sunday, right? On Friday the schools shut
So, I asked if I'd be tested for coronavirus. My boss said it hadn't occurred to him!
My boss said not to go in until I got tested, and I just thought about work!
[ VO ] While Svetlana worried about her job, Alexander
was checking out his new living arrangements
[ Alexander ] Breakfast
It looks like porridge, tea...
bread and a huge bit of cheese, it's so thick!
That's it!
11 am...
But the doctor hasn't been
They're running around exhausted and I'm locked in with a little key
But a guy came, opened the door, shut it, 'Damn, it's not locked!' and he left
So, in theory, I could just go out on the balcony and from there see...
...the city
[ Svetlana ] That night, a doctor came and said: 'I think we'll test you for coronavirus,
just in case'
[ Woman ] A little more
[ Woman ] Does it hurt? [ Svetlana ] Yes!
[ Woman ] Done!
[ Karen ] You’ve seen it, it’s absolutely horrid, It’s horrible,
I swear they hit the back of my head when they stick that stick up there.
It was horrible, brutal! Then it’s like both nostrils and back of your throat.
And it’s like 4 days before my results come through.
[ Tiffany ] At that time the test results were not immediate.
They said if it was influenza
I would know the next day but if it was covid-19
I would not know for a couple of days
[ Karen ] I don’t know where I’ve caught it
but I’m very ill
and i’m telling you
now that if you’re gonna meet your friends for a stupid beer…
or a silly walk `cos the weather is nice...
you’re gonna take this home and you’re gonna kill someone,
one of your family members
Every last energy every last ounce of you that you had
was taking yourself to the toilet.
It was horrific.
I couldn’t even get to the toilet and back anymore without losing every part of me.
The antibiotics is the main thing that’s fighting the pneumonia
but you gotta fight the covid.
[ VO ] As Karen struggled alone in hospital,
Tiffany, like so many others, was sent home to await her results.
[ Tiffany ] I was on the floor somedays in my bathroom, you know, crying, praying,
not knowing what the outcome would be
but knowing I was not myself
and I’m a very energetic person
and so it was severe
[ Alexander ] It's absolutely crazy!
Total A-P-O-C-A-L-Y-P-S-E!
What is going on?
The dollar fell, coronavirus bombed us all now, there's a strong wind
And they have to interrupt a show? Just to let all of Russia know about it!
Day 4 in solitary confinement
Well… it's starting to feel lonely
No one tells me anything
No news. Even the very first tests, the results, no one's said a thing
Well, there it is...
It reminds me of 'The Martian'
But in this case, the planet is here
It feels as though you're sitting in prison
It's like there's life out there...
beyond these walls
And you haven't done anything, but...
you won't see Earth any time soon, not with your own eyes!
Yup!
[ Karen ] I’ve just been told that I have Covid-19.
I’ve been ill for two weeks.
I’ve been in the hospital since Saturday
and today is Wednesday.
I`ve pneumonia in both lungs
and I’m fighting for me and my baby.
[ Svetlana ] Saturday night, 2 am, they woke me and said… They were in these spacesuits
They used to just wear tiny masks, but once they knew I had the virus, spacesuits!
[ Marina ] So once it was confirmed on that Saturday then what happened?
What was the process then?
[ Tiffany ] The process then was for me to isolate to quarantine for 14 days.
They told me that I was highly contagious and so they said that
I couldn’t interact with anyone
and I explained to them,
“Well I have children, it’s kinda hard to do that”.
So, for me I kinda went into panic more.
Even though I don’t feel well.
To the best of my ability, I started disinfecting the house.
Luckily, I do have two restrooms in my house
and my children have their own bathroom
so the only room we were sharing was the kitchen and
so I was trying my best to disinfect those areas and
then I self-quarantined for 14 days.
[ Alexander ] So, I've had the official news; I was indeed sick with the coronavirus
It's funny how I haven't seen one face and don't know any names
I don't know who's with me, if I ever meet them in the street, I won't know
It's strange
[ Svetlana ] Of course, I was scared for myself as there's no real treatment,
I could have been given anything, like a lab guinea pig, you know?
[ Svetlana ] 3 times a day, they take my temperature
blood pressure too and something about oxygen
And they give me a paracetamol drip
that's 3 times a day, and once a day I get
by I.V. 500 ml of what's called levofloxacin,
an antibiotic
And injections they call 'La Heparina' in
Spanish, they're quite painful, in the stomach
They also gave me a toy for breathing exercises,
the goal is to keep the balls at the top, it should look like this,
but I always just end up coughing...
The 3rd ball should get to the top, but I can't do that yet
[ Karen ] This is the first time I have sat up in...
I get a little confused...in..
two days.
I’ve now come off the oxygen
and this is my breathing.
This is absolutely incredible.
This is amazing,
this is me sitting up after a minute like this.
Unbelievable.
I have to do this now…push myself.
I’ve got to do this now for me and my baby
There were so many times that I honestly thought ‘well this is it’.
I even messaged my sister to just like give her
a goodbye message. Like, we were really close...
and she was just like ‘NOPE!’
Ring them back on the phone ‘Don’t be so stupid!’ Because I thought ‘This is it,
I can’t fight any longer’.
[ Alexander ] I've found out what they're giving me, and...
these yellow things, they're antibiotics
This white thing is to make me bring up phlegm...
when I cough, but I'm not coughing, so nothing comes up
And here, between these two, is an antihistamine
[ Man ] We're done, you turn it on and off here
[ Man ] It turns on if it sees germs, if not, it's off [ Alexander ] Great!
[ Alexander ] Thanks!
[ Marina ] And then it just went away?
[ Tiffany ] Well I was drinking tea, I was drinking ginger, turmeric,
just home remedies...
hey were saying that coronavirus cannot live in heat.
And so just drinking warm beverages, vitamin c, orange juice...
I was taking hot baths
and I just also want to add prayer, you know
I was praying and just doing those things are what assisted me and
eventually I started feeling like myself again.
[ Svetlana ] How do I feel? Amazing!
I've had some great news, today they took out my cannula
and...
At last, I've had a shower, and so I'm just like a happy person
My temperature, blood pressure and oxygen are normal, no dyspnea
I slept well, I feel great
[ Alexander ] 4:30 am
A doctor came to give me my last test for coronavirus
Firstly, she did it so early to get it sent out in the first car
to get me out of here as soon as possible
Secondly, just imagine, she went round the whole hospital to help us
the patients, to get well again and go home to our families and friends
The people who work here are total heroes
I've put these notes in every window I can
messages...
Like this, and this...
to support the people who've taken care of me here
So let's support these people, they're doing a great job
[ Svetlana ] I wanted to ask you,
are the nurses scared of coming in here, how do they feel?
[ Doctor ] Yes, they are a little scared [ Svetlana ] Yes...
[ Svetlana ] I wanted to say thank you very much and...
I know it's very hard to come in here
[ Doctor ] It's the unknown, you always fear what you don't know
[ Svetlana ] Many thanks [ Doctor ] You're welcome!
[ Svetlana ] Every day at 8 pm, I hear the medical staff being applauded
All the patients are grateful. I am too
[ Marina ] And I’m sure you could even see from the nurses and the doctors…
They’re all so overworked and so tired..and you could
see it in them probably that the situation is dire.
[ Karen ] They’re run ragged. You literally press the buzzer
and you can be sitting there waiting half an hour for someone to come help you.
And when they come along they obviously have to kit up
so it’s a good 10-15 minutes sometimes
while they put their PPE on,
to be able to come and help you which is scary because when
you’re needing help you want someone to help you straight away...
they’re dealing with the ward, or other patients or they’ve got to kit up...it’s scary.
You’re on your own the entire time, the isolation side of things is unbelievable.
[ Marina ] When did you start feeling like yourself again?
[ Tiffany ] The middle of the third week going into the last week
of March I started feeling like myself
and that’s when they had called me in to retest me.
[ Alexander ] My friends, I'm so happy! A doctor was just here,
a charming lady with just a mask, so I could see her eyes, not the full PPE suit
She said that my second test is also negative, which is very promising
and I'm free to go!
[ Karen ] Hello everyone.
I’m so excited.
I just got the news that I’m going home to my babies, and my husband.
I’ve been so ill since the 12th of March.
And I get to go home.
I’m back in isolation for another week but I don’t care.
I get to go home, see my babies’ faces.
I can’t touch them and I can’t kiss them still. But I get to go home.
I’m so excited.
I’ve got a long road ahead of me still to recover but I’m coming home.
[ Svetlana ] I'm happy to say, I now have no coronavirus
The test is 'NEGATIVO'! Take note!
A doctor signed it, it's official! I'm being discharged! Hurrah!
They've told me that I should disinfect all my personal belongings
The ones I take with me
[ Tiffany ] Very early in the morning I received a phone call from a doctor
saying ‘we have amazing news’.
She said ‘Miss Pinckney you don’t have the coronavirus
but seemingly what’s going on is that
your body, your blood is producing antibodies at a rapid pace.
They took about 600 ml of blood and from that they extracted plasma
with the hopes that it would in fact help someone who was in an extremely severe case.
My stance was
that if I could help someone who is going through this
and their body is not fighting it off, I would be honored to do that
because I know what it felt like to be
a victim of that pandemic, with no medication, with no help...
[ Alexander ] Actually, I'm going to miss this
It sounds ironic, but this has been my home...
I got used to it over 2 weeks
Sure, I'll run back to family and friends, I'm free,
but...
I will remember this. It was great!
Thank you - to everyone
Elephant-sized thanks!
Bye!
[ Svetlana ] My first time going out...
in the city...
after 13 days of imprisonment
Yeah!
The surprise is - there's no one at all outside
It's just like...
a ghost town
Look at the centre of Tarragona
The time is...
about 10 pm
Not a soul!
[ Alexander ] That's the very building!
[ Alexander ] I actually felt... Not the moment that I
stepped outside but the moment when the wind hit my face
that was the first moment when I actually felt free.
And even though it was a cold wind, freezing wind
it was the best wind I ever had in my life.
My friend said I survived a biological weapon but the most
important thing is that you become a biological weapon.
But the most important thing is that you become biological weapon.
Stay away from people!
[ Marina ] This is the first time I am leaving my flat in about 20 days.
It’s getting so stuffy I can’t take it anymore I need some fresh air.
Oh God.
Oh it feels so good to be out
and it’s such a lovely day, look.
There are so many things that we still
don't know about this virus that it really is scary.
And I’m shocked at how many people I know, friends, colleagues,
who still go out, still see their friends, parents.
We’re still allowed to walk around but just literally right next to the house.
But because I have a baby I’ve been trying to stay safe. And actually this is as far as I’m going to go.
But at least we’re not sick so
it could’ve been worse, you know?
[ VO ] Seeing people outside, I do wonder
if I’m being too cautious.
But I’ve heard from patients who went through hell,
and of course so many others have died...
that’s why I really think, with COVID-19, safe really is better than sorry.