A queer costume designer has shared his experience with the coronavirus and has urged people everywhere to take the pandemic seriously.
Writing on Instagram, Tarek Soliman, who designed Sasha Velour’s headpiece for the season 10 finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race, shared his experience with COVID-19.
He said he wanted “young people who think this virus isn’t dangerous” to pay attention and engage in social distancing and self-isolation to help contain the crisis.
“I started feeling chills and my body felt weak on March 8th,” Soliman wrote.
Costume designer Tarek Soliman sought medical treatment after days of horrific coronavirus symptoms.
He initially thought it was a cold or flu. While travelling by bus from Washington D.C. to New York City, he started to experience “high temperature, severe chills, sweating, body aches and a terrible headache.”
He stayed at home for five days, still thinking that he just had a bad flu – but on the fifth day, his symptoms became worse and he sought medical treatment.
“By the time the doctor started running some tests I fainted and they called the ambulance,” he wrote.
“From the moment I got [to the hospital] I was kept in an isolated room by myself, they definitely didn’t know what to do.
This isn’t something small we are dealing with, be responsible and stay home. I don’t want anyone to go through what I am going through now.
“They ran some tests on me every four hours, with no information or telling me what I have or what’s wrong with me.” He said he was “shaking” and “felt like [he] was dying”.
Hospital staff tested him for COVID-19 and sent him home after a 12-hour stint in the emergency department. Four days later, he was informed that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
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When he wrote the post yesterday, he said he still had “the same symptoms” and was struggling to breathe.
“I am still not cured or healed from COVID-19 and I will be going to the emergency room again for my developed pneumonia.”
He urged people to ‘stay home’ to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
He added: “This isn’t something small we are dealing with, be responsible and stay home. I don’t want anyone to go through what I am going through now. Stay safe.”
More than 200,000 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus worldwide and there have been more than 10,000 deaths.
People in affected countries are being advised to engage in social distancing or self-isolation if they have come into contact with someone who was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Health authorities are asking people to wash their hands regularly for 20-second periods and have repeatedly reminded people that doing so is the best way to stop spreading the virus.
Authorities in many countries have also insisted that people must stay indoors in order to combat the spread of COVID-19.