HALIFAX -- A Halifax woman who was just released from the hospital's COVID-19 unit is issuing a warning about community spread.
Speaking, even for a few minutes, is currently a challenge for 30-year-old Danica Pettipas.
Pettipas says she began feeling COVID-19 symptoms on April 19. As they worsened, she went for a COVID-19 test Wednesday, and was informed of her positive result on Thursday.
“Friday, I took a turn for the worse, and I was rushed by ambulance from Dartmouth where I live, to the QEII,” says Pettipas.
Pettipas says she’s not sure where she was infected, but says her and her husband both work in retail, making them candidates for community spread.
“Unfortunately my case is untraceable right now,” says Pettipas. “They don’t know where I have contracted this awful virus from.”
Otherwise healthy, Pettipas says she’s never been this sick in her life.
Along with the loss of taste and smell, she has battled nausea, exhaustion and uncomfortable skin issues.
In a post to Facebook, Pettipas detailed her experience with the virus, and issued a warning to others. The post has been shared hundreds of times.
After nearly four days in the COVID-19 unit, Danica was released from hospital Monday afternoon.
However, she still isn’t allowed to go home, as she quarantines at a hotel while her husband, who has tested negative so far, remains at home.
Even as she recovers, her husband, in quarantine himself, worries about her mental health.
“Emotionally, it’s definitely pretty rough on her,” says Chris Pettipas.
Anticipating a long recovery, Danica is urging everyone to follow public health guidelines, and get tested, whether or not you have symptoms.
“Please get tested, whether you’re asymptomatic, or you think you’re just getting a little cold. Because it could be COVID-19 and you could be spreading it to other people,” says Pettipas.
Some COVID-19 caution from a hospital unit dedicated to it, and a woman determined to keep others from winding up there.
