Covid 19 coronavirus: First woman in NZ diagnosed with virus wants to help other victims

The first New Zealand woman diagnosed with coronavirus wants to offer practical support to other patients who have Covid 19-to "ease their anxiety".

The woman and her husband arrived in Auckland on February 26 after visiting Northern Italy.

Her husband was the fourth confirmed case and both have now fully recovered.

The couple said they were relieved their symptoms were mild and they don't need to be re-tested.

"We didn't notice anything different, it was just like a cold. We had no symptoms," she told the Herald.

The mother-of-two revealed she had seen the "best and worse of humanity" when she and her husband were ill.

"It was disgusting people were saying we should be thrown in jail or we deserved to die because we brought this virus back from Italy."

Recently the mother-of-two contacted Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, offering to assist new patients trying to combat the deadly virus.

She emailed and messaged Ardern on her Instagram directly to find out if the Government had any systems in place where recovered people could help others who had the virus.

"I said I am not a doctor but is there any information you can gather from recovered patients? I suggested that we could talk to people who have been recently diagnosed and might be struggling? I just don't think there are any systems set up for this yet. I think people need to know that this isn't a big scary virus. For most people it's like having a cold," she said.

The woman hasn't received a response from Ardern yet but believes they are in a "preventive mode" rather than a "fixing it mode".

The businesswoman wants to reassure the majority of New Zealanders who have been diagnosed with Covid-19 that they would "recover" unless they had a compromised immune system.

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She would like to see a helpline set up for people who think they might have symptoms of the virus.

"As a recovered patient I think it is important to share our experiences and demystify any concerns and anxieties about coronavirus. For me, being out the other side I felt there was more that I could do. I feel it is really unjust to be trapped at home. We've done the quarantine and we are not a risk to anybody - we can't catch it from anybody - we are in our bubble at home. It would feel more meaningful if I could help people as a recovered person," she said.

The doctor, who initially treated the woman when she was diagnosed, phoned her and asked "what it was like" having Covid-19 after two of his staff became unwell.

"Even medical staff are wanting to know how it felt. So maybe there is a lack of understanding from them too."

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

She hopes New Zealand will follow clinical trials being conducted overseas that use antibodies from plasma in recovered patients to kill the virus.

"If it turns out these trials are a viable option and recovered patients have strong antibodies to the virus perhaps we might not have to go in lockdown again."

Like other businesses that have been forced to close in the lockdown apart from essential services, the woman is trying to keep hers afloat.

"Everybody is doing it tough because our borders are closed. I can't understand why the economy has stopped for a 'cold'. It makes me sad so many people are losing businesses or have lost their jobs.