A Monaghan-based GP recovering from COVID-19 says she lost a week of her life to the virus.
Dr Ilona Duffy told Newstalk Breakfast she began feeling unwell last Monday - first experiencing a temperature and headaches, before developing a cough.
After being referred for testing by her own GP, Dr Duffy received a positive test on Sunday.
She explained: “You’re always wondering with any cough or any bit of a temperature... is it it?
"This time my symptoms were so severe… that was probably the most surprising thing to me, because I really thought 'if I do get it it will be reasonably mild - I have no underlying health conditions'.
“Really, I kind of had a week wiped out of my life with this, being so unwell. It was quite frightening really, but luckily I am improving."
Dr Duffy said it's important for everyone to realise how potentially serious coronavirus can be.
She observed: “We don’t want to do any scaremongering, but there can be mixed messages and people out there can be thinking perhaps it’s only a mild thing.
"I think the big thing with this disease is we don’t know how it’s going to pan out.
“One person can get it, and simply have a cough and no temperatures… someone else can get it and have really high temperatures, diarrhea and become quite unwell… others can become short of breath, and really struggle and end up in hospital."
'I'd worn full PPE'
Dr Duffy said the phone call she received after her test result was from a contact tracing team.
She said: "Obviously number one was I had to think whether there was any concern for my patients.
“I knew I’d worn full PPE, and therefore hadn’t any direct face-to-face contact with patients… it had also been for such short periods of time. Public health were able to reassure me none of my patients had been at risk."
Total change in delivery of General Practice.
All patients must have a telephone call with a GP in our practice to decide if they need to be seen.
Unfortunately the HSE have yet to provide us with masks for staff and patients so we are improvising.@paulreiddublin @SimonHarrisTD pic.twitter.com/nno6l2TcTw— illona duffy (@illonaduffy) March 12, 2020
“The only [other] people I’d been in contact with were my husband and my kids...and even those as soon as I become symptomatic I’d isolated in my bedroom, and I’ve been alone in my room for over a week now."
She suggested Ireland is winning the battle against COVID-19 - but she stressed that it will be a long battle.
Dr Duffy urged people to continue following the public health advice, noting that everyone only having a limited number of contacts at the moment is helping curb the spread of the virus.
