Georgia woman with coronavirus says ‘no one should go out’

By Joshua Rhett Miller

A “freaked out” Georgia woman with coronavirus has a simple message for anyone considering venturing outside: Just don’t go.

Arianne Fielder, 34, started isolating herself inside her Marietta apartment on Wednesday after being exposed to COVID-19 during a visit to her oncologist’s office for cervical cancer treatment last week, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

A nurse later called Fielder and told her  that “coronavirus was in the pharmacy” at her doctor’s office at WellStar Kennestone Hospital. Two tests then confirmed the virus had infected Fielder, one of 121 Georgians who have been diagnosed as of Tuesday, according to a Johns Hopkins University database.

“No one should go out,” Fielder told the newspaper from her apartment, where she’s been holed up a week.

“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, who works at a bar, has not returned to her job since her diagnosis. She’s also keeping all visitors away.

“No one’s been by the house,” Fielder said.

To pass the time in isolation, Fielder is watching workout videos on YouTube, eating food sent to her apartment by friends and looking after her dog, who she says has come down with a fever.

“I think my dog’s been more sick than I am,” Fielder said.

There’s no evidence that dogs, cats or pets can transmit COVID-19, although adog has been infected with the disease in Hong Kong, according to the World Health Organization.

Fielder is now worried about how she’ll pay her $1,300 rent after the Georgia Department of Public Health ordered her to stay inside for the next two weeks – during which she’d usually earn about $1,600.

Fielder is now hoping her experience can serve as a stern warning to others, she said.

“I hope people read [this] and they know they can be a carrier and don’t go out,” Fielder said.