He's a civil servant in the Ministry of rural development. But around the beginning of the month Roel Chan tested positive for COVID-19. But as hard as that diagnosis may be, for many it's more difficult to even get a test!
That wasn't the case for Chan who says he got swabbed at the Corozal Community Hospital within 24 hours of his first trip to the hospital.
Easy enough, but on his second test, the one that should clear him from quarantine, he found long lines and an interminable wait. He spoke to Cherisse Halsall by phone.
Roel Chan, Covid Patient
"I started feeling bad I think around November 3rd. I started with fever then it went cough, I had pain in my chest, so on Saturday 7th I decided to go to the Corozal Hospital to get swab. It didn't take too long I was there I think from around 11:00 in the morning and they told me that the computer was not working. So they called me around 4:00 o'clock that I can go to get swabbed. I couldn't make it at 4pm so I went to the hospital at 7pm and I waited for about an hour or so and I got swabbed and they ask me to stay in quarantine. I got my result I think 10 days later they called me that I was positive. Although I had not gotten my result I was pretty sure that I was positive, because I had lost my smell, my taste, the cough was very constant and the fever it's very painful. In terms of swabbing it didn't take long. The same Saturday that I went I got swabbed, I went in the morning and then got swabbed in the night. it's only the result that takes a bit of time."
"I was supposed to get swabbed today my second swab to find out my result, I do believe that at this time I would come out negative because I don't have any symptoms anymore, no cough, no fever, no pain - anything at all. But I went to the hospital today and there's a big big list of people to be swabbed. You need to put an appointment to get swab, so I will be my second swab will be on Wednesday at 1pm. But yes definitely I think that after the elections as everybody knew that it would have been a super spreader, I believe there is a big outbreak because I see huge numbers in Corozal that are waiting to be swabbed. What I can tell the general public is to be very careful. This COVID-19 is very painful, the worse thing I think was the fever and the cough, the nonstop cough. I kept coughing and then it gives you short breath. That is very painful, I ask all the public that are listening be careful, be mindful use your face mask and sanitize and keep your social distance and please everybody please take care it is very painful."
And for the COVID positive Belizean the struggles don't end with diagnosis and quarantine. There's also the difficult task of securing COVID sick pay with reports of multiple turnarounds for those who are supposed to be in self-isolation.
