Ohio County family overcomes coronavirus

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many in the county are reflecting on their experiences and others are returning to normal life after recovering from the virus.

Among the current 136 recovered cases in Ohio County, one family has experienced the virus together as it quickly spread throughout their household. Affecting all but one family member, Jacob, 22 of Ohio County (who wishes not to have his last name shared) spoke on his experience of witnessing and living with family affected by the virus.

Jacob’s brother and dad tested positive for the virus in mid-May and he said his sister and mom later began experiencing symptoms but were never officially tested. The family’s home became the definition of isolation and social distancing when they were all required to remain in different areas of their home.

“The healthy ones went to one bathroom and the sick ones went to another,” he said.

He discussed how all family members tried to remain distant from him and even from each other.

“It was hard, but we were able to stay spread out for the most part.”

He was required to take a two-week quarantine leave from his work and all of his family members also took a two week leave with a few additional days to be extra cautious. With both of his parents having pre-existing health conditions, Jacob said he was more concerned for the health of his family than himself.

“A lot of things were running through my mind,” he said.

Jacob recalled his brother telling him that he basically did not leave his bed for three days.

He said that while the media and other sources can receive a bad reputation for the spread of certain information, he urges everyone to listen to the precautions that they are giving people and to take the situation seriously.

“They are 100% right about how bad it is or how bad it can get,” he said. “Just about every symptom or result that was said to come from the virus happened to them.”

Jacob said that while it was hard for his family to deal with the virus, he is glad that the situation did not lead to more severe effects or special circumstances such as hospitalization or additional needed care.

Living through a worldwide pandemic and other recent issues, he is aware that this will one day be in a history book and discussed how history does indeed repeat itself.

“I’ve learned that these things are bound to happen. I understand that it will go away eventually...I just don’t know when and it scares me a little bit,” he said.

Jacob shared his concern for how the situation is being handled in many other states across the country and said that he does not believe it will be over anytime soon.