Editor:
I am writing to urge everyone to please wear a mask when out in public and to take the need for social distancing to heart. Rio Arriba had sad news this week with a big spike in cases, although a large part of the increase is probably related to more people finally being tested. No one will know if they have the virus without being tested.
Because I had traveled in March, I was eligible to be tested at the end of a 14-day quarantine. My husband and I never had a symptom; no fever, no cough, no body ache, basically no symptom of concern. Both my husband and I were tested on March 25 and we were shocked to be positive for COVID-19. We continued to quarantine for another week, retested, and were again positive.
Some Rio Grande SUN readers might have seen an April 9 article, which quoted me urging everyone to practice social distancing because “it is important to recognize that even if someone does not have symptoms, they may have the virus, so everyone should be practicing social distancing to prevent the spread as much as possible.” At the time of the article, I had just received my third positive test result.
To make a long story short, without ever having symptoms or being sick, there was enough virus in my system to test positive for more than eight weeks, when I finally tested negative on May 4. I followed best practices and had a second test within 72 hours, and when that was also negative, I am finally able to end the 59-day quarantine and be promoted to social distancing.
Because this is such a new virus and so little is known about it, Larry and I volunteered to continue to be tested to help learn how long coronavirus will linger in asymptomatic people, people with no symptoms. In our case, we helped demonstrate that live virus could linger for at least two months at a level where it could be detected by the nasal swab.
We want to share our appreciation for the medical people in Rio Arriba who referred, tested and cared for us for the past two months. Among them are the New Mexico Department of Health and Dixon Fire Department which ran the first two tests. After that, the wonderful staff at Española Hospital became our test team, onsite Tri-Core quickly processed the test results, and our supportive care was managed by Dr. Jodi Casados at La Clinica del Pueblo and Dr. Mark Bjorklund at El Centro Family Health. I cannot stress enough how lucky we are to have our Community Health Centers and a hospital dedicated to caring for our community.
As testing expands, more cases will be found in the community. Many people have suffered the illness with tremendous pain and disability. Too many have died, leaving their families and communities to grieve.
There are simple ways to protect each other; chief among them are careful hand-washing, wearing a mask, and following all the rules of social distancing. Please everyone, be safe so we can defeat this virus. We are in a long-term pandemic that hasn’t even peaked yet.
Carol Miller
Ojo Sarco