Connor Reed, a 25-year-old teacher, was working at a school in Wuhan, China, for almost a year. In November, he became the UK's first case of the coronavirus, and he detailed each day of his symptoms before the rest of the world caught on to the dangers of the outbreak...
Under The Weather
Connor woke up one morning feeling a little off. He'd been living in Wuhan, China, for the better part of a year, and cold and flu season had managed to evade him until now. His eyes felt bleary and he was sneezing off and on, but it wasn't enough to make him stay home from work. He was a schoolteacher, and the kids were depending on him to show up. He pulled himself out of bed and went about his day, pushing through the symptoms...
His Lifelong Dream
Connor's goal in life had always been to teach English in a foreign country. After he graduated from college, he moved all the way from England to China to work in an elementary school to teach Chinese-speaking children English. He couldn't be more content with his job. He'd worked hard to get to where he was, and he wasn't about to let a cold get in the way of his routine...
Subtle Symptoms
Connor wasn't likely to pass on his cold to anyone else. He lived alone and the symptoms he'd developed were very minor. He was sure it would pass in a day or so after a good night's sleep and lots of hydration. He pushed through the day and made sure he made minimal physical contact with other people, just to be safe...
No Cause for Concern
Connor made sure he had tea handy all day. The Chinese were known for their medicinal teas and he took full advantage of the supply he had on hand. Surely this would help him feel better. He went home from work and took a hot shower, made soup, and stayed in for the rest of the night. He was sure he'd feel better in the morning...
A Sore Throat
The next morning, Connor woke up with a sore throat, which he'd anticipated. Colds usually got a little worse before they got better. He remembered a quick remedy for a sore throat was hot water, whiskey, and honey, so he made a quick mug and hoped for the best. He still wanted to go to work, so he pushed negative thoughts out of his mind and told himself he would feel better soon...
Starting To Feel Worse
By the end of the work day, Connor was starting to feel really sick. Despite all the tea and the aspirin, he wasn't getting any better. He couldn't wait to get home and fall into bed and sleep it off. He thought being on his feet all day had prevented him from getting better...
He Must Have Had The Flu
The next morning, Connor felt so much worse. His whole body ached, his head pounded, his eyes burned. He was having trouble breathing, which meant the cold had traveled down to his chest. He was coughing so much that his whole body shook. He decided he needed to visit the doctor...
An Unusual Diagnosis
At the hospital, Connor was prescribed medication for pneumonia. He had a weird feeling that that wasn't what was wrong with him, but he felt too awful to argue. His symptoms had gotten so much worse...
Waiting To Heal
Connor still had horrible body pains, a hacking cough, and difficulty breathing. He had no appetite, and the concoction of medication he'd been prescribed was affecting his sleeping. He definitely wouldn't be at work for the next few days. Though the diagnosis had sort of eased his mind, he was worried that something worse than pneumonia was happening...
News-Worthy Virus
As Connor laid at home watching the news and recovering, he saw a disturbing headline. Chinese officials were worried about a virus that is traveling through the city. There were restrictions on travel and people were swarming stores trying to stock up on essentials. The news said the virus's symptoms mimicked the flu and then caused pneumonia. Connor felt a rush of panic. That sounded familiar...
Patient 0
Later that day, Connor received an upsetting phone call. The hospital he'd visited had made a mistake. They were confirming that he'd contracted the Wuhan coronavirus. However, he was now immune to it and could not catch it again. He panicked—what did this mean? Could the virus kill him? He felt the sickest he'd ever been in his life. How had he caught it?
Taking Every Precaution
Connor was told he had to wear on his mask like everyone else in order to attempt to contain the virus. If he didn't, he could be arrested. The Chinese authorities were doing everything they could to quickly control the coronavirus, despite knowing very little about it...
No Known Vaccine
All doctors could determine about the coronavirus at the time being was its propensity to spread. It was making its way through the city quickly, with the most common forms of contagion being physical contact and sharing close public spaces with other people who were sick. Connor tried to think about where it would be likely that he'd caught the virus...
The Local Fish Market
Connor was a regular at the local Wuhan fish market. It was the way all the locals did their shopping. Big open-air markets were also huge tourist attractions. Since the virus outbreak, Connor had read some weird rumors online. The US had made reports about the markets selling exotic meats like bat and koala, something Connor had never seen. He could tell the hysteria was going to be blown well out of proportion...
Worldwide Crisis
The whole world now knew what coronavirus was, and the panic was reaching epidemic levels. Connor had only told a few friends about his diagnosis because he didn't want to add to the fear. He was doing his part by staying indoors, keeping his hands clean, and wearing a mask when he absolutely had to go out...
Word Had Spread
Months later, Connor probably shouldn't have Facebook messaged his friends that he was Wuhan's Patient 0 because the word had spread. They finally had a name to the first COVID-19 patient. His local paper back home in Llandudno, North Wales, reached out to him for a statement. They obviously wanted to be the first ones to break the story with a face to the virus...
A News Feature Overnight
Connor eventually decided he should probably talk to the reporters so they could hear the case of his illness from the source rather than rumors. He thought maybe he could shed some light on the virus in order to quell any unnecessary panic.
An Unconventional Cure
Connor tried to explain that at first, he had no idea what was wrong. The news wanted something more, so when he explained that he initially tried to cure himself just with hot tea and "hot toddies" (hot water, lemon, and whiskey) the journalists ate it up. However, that obviously wasn't what helped totally alleviate his symptoms...
He Explained His Symptoms
Connor made sure the journalists understood exactly what he went through. "I was coughing like I was going to die in the beginning." He explained that he'd originally been diagnosed with pneumonia because his lungs were full of fluid and his body ached. He had a high and persistent fever for a couple of days and was sent home to self-isolate...
Confirming the Virus
He explained that he'd returned to the hospital after the prescription he'd been given the first time didn't seem to help. Then, he was given a test to confirm that he had COVID-19, and was again sent home with medication because at that point the hospital was out of beds. The virus had overtaken the city and he was no longer the only case...
A Terrifying Quarantine
He then explained that he'd been sent to a hotel that was converted into a hospital and remained under constant quarantine. Police were posted outside to prevent anyone from leaving and spreading the virus. He stayed there for weeks until his symptoms started to subside...
A Rising Death Toll
Three months after he'd initially contracted the virus, Connor was finally able to go home. He was now immune, and he tested negative for all symptoms. However, just because it was all over for him didn't mean the rest of the world wasn't suffering. The death toll in Wuhan had risen to 1,400 people, with six medical workers among the statistic...
Global Paranoia
At the time of Connor's interview, there were 64,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide. The virus had started in China and spread through airports and other means of travel. Among that number, 1,716 victims were public health workers...
Death of a Whistleblower
There was anger over the death of a whistleblowing doctor who had raised alarm over the virus months prior. He was silenced by police because they feared a panic, and unfortunately, he'd been right. He then caught COVID-19 and died, but had he not been silenced, the scale of the epidemic could have possibly been prevented...
Confirmed Cases
The health emergency that started with China has now spread to more than two dozen countries, each with hundreds of cases. The United States has accused China of lacking transparency and claimes Wuhan didn't have the proper equipment to treat patients with...
Dr. Li Wenliang
Following the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist in Wuhan, 10 academics circulated an open letter calling for political reform and freedom of speech in the Communist-ruled country. Had he been permitted to address the start of the virus, the panic would have likely been lessened and the outbreak would have been dealt with more timely. Now, the outbreak was too much for one country to deal with alone...
How to Combat an Epidemic
Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that battling the epidemic is a "big test for the country's governance system and governance ability." They chaired a political meeting on government reforms, and the outbreak has "exposed shortcomings" in China's government systems. The country needs to reform its public health and epidemic prevention and control systems...
The Criteria For a Case
The scale of the Wuhan epidemic has caused the need for doctors to change the criteria for admitting patients. That has caused numbers to soar because the symptoms check more boxes than initially thought. Doctors don't want to make the same mistake that they made with Connor and mistakenly diagnose patients with pneumonia and then send them home...
A Three-Week Recovery
Once Connor felt his initial symptoms, it took him three long weeks to recover. His symptoms hit him hard and felt like an escalated flu, and no amount of rest seemed to help. The same has been said of most other patients. The coronavirus takes a long time to leave your system, but once it does, you are immune to ever catching it again...
Things Will Get Worse Before They Get Better
Many spokespeople for other countries have announced the closing of large-scale events, like concerts and sports games. It's in question whether or not the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will also be canceled. The public's health is the most important, but experts believe the coronavirus outbreak will get much worse before it gets better.