Recently, two Muscovites returned to the capital from abroad: Maria Teryaeva from France and Irina Astapova from Italy. At first they felt normal, but then they developed a fever. They were taken by ambulance to hospitals: Maria to Shabolovka and Irina to Kommunarka. The Russian service of the BBC asked Maria and Irina if they are afraid of the coronavirus and how their lives are currently organized.
BBC: How did you discover the virus?
M.T.: I flew from Paris on the 11th of March. I immediately had a fever – up to 38.5. But there were no other symptoms except the temperature. And under the pressure of panic, I called an ambulance on the 13th. An ambulance made a test. They promised me the results would be ready in three days. And if it’s positive, they’ll come to see me; if it’s negative, nothing will happen. Every day I got calls from the clinic asking about my temperature. There were calls from different institutions, literally every day. Yesterday I went to the clinic for another test. But in the evening an ambulance came and just took me away, saying that the first test was positive.
BBC: Were you also hospitalized in Kommunarka?
M.T.: No, this is not Kommunarka, this is the maxillofacial hospital for war veterans in Shabolovskaya.
BBC: Are you alone in the room?
M.T.: No, the ward is for five people. And they all tested positive.
BBC: And when you arrived, were you checked at the airport? Did they say anything about self-isolation?
M.T.: I isolated myself. I personally canceled my trip to see my mother because I understood the likelihood of bringing the virus with me. There was no check at the airport. I had a connecting flight in Helsinki, and Helsinki, as I understood it, was not scary for them at that time.
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BBC: How do you feel about this situation?
M.T.: This all looks like a movie. Look at this equipment, look at this disorganization – there are five structures and they all have different information. Yesterday at the hospital, I spent four hours filling out paperwork and telling everyone the same thing. But everyone is trying very hard, they are very polite and understanding. It is clear that they are in a situation of some order that they have to follow. But now the doctor came and said that I will not be released until I have two negative tests.
BBC: Was any treatment prescribed?
M.T.: They said no because there are no symptoms. They said they will monitor us every day, take our temperature every two hours. If symptoms appear, they will treat us while waiting for the test results.
BBC: Have you spoken to medical staff about how they see the coronavirus situation in Moscow?
M.T.: They say it’s under control.
BBC: Do you believe them?
M.T.: I don’t know. I no longer have the resources to process all the information that is currently available. I can’t assess the situation. I’m very tired of reading about the coronavirus for the last two months and nothing else. It’s very easy and foolish to make statements now. There’s a lot of information out there and we’ll never get to the truth, I’m sure.
BBC: Are you afraid of the coronavirus?
M.T.: The thing is that I have already recovered from it. I was sick with it from the 11th to the 14th of March. It’s just now that I got the confirmation that it was indeed the coronavirus. It was like a cold, I didn’t even have a cough.
BBC: Has the situation of this information hysteria affected you?
M.T.: The attitude changed literally every day – from some awareness to denial of all this. I was in Europe at the time, and the panic there was greater than here.
BBC: Did you wash your hands and wear a mask?
М.Т: Certainly.
BBC: Do you know where you could have been infected?
M.T.: I have no idea. Maybe it’s an airport. There are no guesses.
BBC: When did you arrive and where did you come from?
I.A.: I flew from Pisa. We were in Florence. I was not sick at all in Italy. We were walking, it was before all this broke out. We heard about it while we were there. But the “red zone” was in Lombardy and we were in Florence. And we flew on the 28th [of February].
BBC: What was the basis for your hospitalization?
I.A.: First I went to the ambulance. Everything was fine, I didn’t have a fever, they told me to gargle my throat, no big deal, I was in Italy, everything will be fine. But after some time my temperature went up, I went back and then they sounded the alarm, decided to admit me to the hospital. On March 11, the twelfth day after my return, I told them that it was probably not coronavirus. But they decided to take precautions, and maybe they were right.
BBC: And where are you in the hospital?
I.A.: At the moment I have a separate room, but I share “facilities” for two rooms. There is an elderly couple in one of the rooms. The husband has tested positive for coronavirus and the wife has tested negative based on the available tests. I assume that the tests could be different, and when I go to the bathroom, I wash my hands with soap, wear a mask, and clean everything thoroughly. In other words, these are not completely private rooms and there is some risk. The doctor – the head of the department or the deputy head of the department – said that they will transfer me from this ward to another ward. With this lady who is currently with an infected patient. I said that doesn’t make sense. Yes, she had a negative test, but she can still become positive because she has been in contact with him all the time [despite Irina’s concerns, she remained in a separate ward – BBC note].
BBC: And how many tests have you taken?
I.A.: I took two samples, I think they did too. But so far we only have the result for one sample. Mine is negative. In the next room, one person has a negative result and the other has a positive result.
BBC: Have doctors explained these movements?
I.A.: They say: “Many sick people are coming, [we] can’t guarantee you a separate room.” I say: “Well, please try to guarantee it, because I see a risk in it.” Honestly, I am not panicking, I think it is an infection that can be dealt with. But on the other hand, I currently have a respiratory viral infection (ORVI) and my body is weakened, so the risk of getting infected is slightly higher than that of a completely healthy person. And it seems to me that it is not worth exposing myself to further risk, I could be quarantined at home. The whole time I was here, there was no treatment. They just did tests, took my temperature in the morning and in the evening, and did two complete tests of my throat and nose.
BBC: Everyone who has visited this hospital says it is very well built. Do you have the same impression?
I.A.: It’s quite comfortable here, it’s convenient, and the mattresses-beds are comfortable, but having shared sanitary facilities is a certain risk. There are probably completely separate rooms. So the hospital is very comfortable, they feed well – it feels like five times a day – normal quality food. It is too hot, I thought the heaters were adjustable, but they are not, and we have to open the windows – we are suffocating from the heat. Otherwise, we have all the comforts, not like in Soviet hospitals.
BBC: And how is the husband of the lady you are supposed to settle with?
I.A.: I don’t know, I think they’re not bad. He walks, talks, sometimes quite loudly as I can hear from behind the wall. I think he coughs, I can hear it. But he is fine, they are moving on their own, they are calling for medical personnel, they are coming to them.
BBC: Can you not understand from your room what the situation is with the hospital beds? Or is there some kind of “telegraph”?
I.A.: I have no such information. Only the words of the doctor who said that people are coming. But there was information that almost 100 people were released on Saturday. So there should be space.
After the interview was recorded, Irina Astapova was transferred to a single ward.