Road to Recovery: "Stay Calm, Isolate Immediately," Says 20-Year-Old COVID-19 Survivor

Nikita Liya John, a 20-year-old undergraduate student, tested positive for COVID-19 on February 11.

Nikita is a Mass Communication student at the Symbiosis Institute in Pune and currently stays with her family in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

As soon as she tested positive, she isolated herself in her room. Her father had called a friend to ask about the protocols, and her family immediately began to wear masks in the house and sanitise everything that she had touched. "I had the symptoms of the flu such as a fever, cold, body ache and slight throat pain. On the fifth day, I lost my sense of smell too," she told

The Logical Indian. The doctors had prescribed her paracetamol and told her to rest.

While in isolation, Nikita spent most of her time taking steam, binge-watching tv shows and watching short web dramas on Youtube. She also had to do her internship during the month, which kept her busy. However, she also felt that she was a burden to her parents, who had to make sure that they and her younger brother was safe.

"I always had this feeling that I was giving too much work for my parents, especially my mother who had to work from home because of me. I couldn't help thinking that maybe if I took more precautions, this wouldn't have happened," she said. She even video called her parents in the other room during her isolation period.

Nikita also felt the constant need to be productive during isolation. "The need to be productive affected me a lot. I felt like I had to do something during the isolation period, but it was ironic because I was too tired to do anything," she said.

She tested negative on February 28 and stayed in isolation for almost a month. Nikita did not have post-COVID effects. The least she had was somebody weakness which lasted only for approximately ten days.

When asked if she could advise people about COVID-19, she requested everyone to stay home and wear masks when going out. "Take care of your loved ones," she added.

To those who may test positive, she tells them not to panic. "Stay calm and isolate immediately. With the necessary medicines and procedures, the virus will go away like a flu. Take care of yourself and take steam and drink hot water," she said.