Holed up in her Marietta apartment, Arianne Fielder had this message for anyone considering leaving their homes during the coronavirus pandemic: “No one should go out.”
Fielder, 34, tested positive for the coronavirus after being exposed to the virus during a visit to her oncologist’s office at WellStar Kennestone Hospital last week.
After learning she might have been exposed, Fielder, who has cervical cancer, voluntarily self-quarantined beginning on March 11. Now that tests have confirmed she has coronavirus, the Georgia Department of Public Health ordered her to fully isolate herself by remaining in her home without any outside contact.
So far, she said she has not had any symptoms of illness.
“I’m not sick, but I’m freaked out from anxiety,” she said. “I’ve been in here for seven days now. So, I’m a little bit stir crazy.”
Fielder is one of 121 Georgians who have tested positive for the coronavirus. Last week, Fielder had gone to her doctor’s office to pick up a prescription. Shortly after, a nurse called Fielder to let her know “coronavirus was in the pharmacy.” She was swabbed Friday and Saturday night. Both tests came back positive.
Fielder said she did not return to work after she was exposed. She would not name the bar where she works.
“No one’s been by the house,” she said. No one is even allowed in.
She’s been doing YouTube workouts to calm her anxiety.
Fielder’s friends have been ordering her groceries and having them sent to her. Her lone companion has been her dog, who had three fevers in the last 36 hours.
"I think my dog's been more sick than I am," she said. The World Health Organization has said there is no evidence that dogs or cats can contract the coronavirus.
RELATED: Good news: No evidence dogs and cats can get coronavirus
Being positive for the virus means Fielder must stop working for 14 days. A typical week’s income would be $800 for Fielder, whose rent is $1,300 a month.
With no paid time off, she now has to worry about how she’s going to pay her rent.
In the meantime, she’s hoping The Giving Kitchen, an Atlanta-based organization that provides support to restaurant workers will assist her.
Fielder urges people to use UberEats if they still want to support restaurant workers many of whom may be losing income due to restaurant closures and cutbacks.
As for others like herself, she said, “I hope people read (this) and they know they can be a carrier and don’t go out.”
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