Israeli Coronavirus Patient Describes Symptoms as ‘Like a Normal Flu’
A woman wears a face mask on a flight from Tel Aviv to Rome, Feb. 21, 2020. Photo: Nati Shohat / Flash90.
An Israeli man infected with the coronavirus described the symptoms of the disease to the Israeli media on Tuesday, saying it was like “a normal flu.”
Dudi Shimshon, who lives in Australia, was one of the travelers on a cruise ship quarantined off Japan after cases of the disease were found on board.
Israeli news site N12 quoted Shimshon as saying, “I feel fine. If I was home with these symptoms, I wouldn’t even go to the doctor.”
“I have a little fever and a headache, like a normal flu,” he explained. “If I was home, I would take some Acamol [the Israeli equivalent of Tylenol] and that’s all.”
“If they said I had the virus when I was on the ship, I would be much more concerned, but now we’re better informed,” he added.
“It’s very dangerous for older people,” Shimshon said of the disease, “but less so for slightly younger people.”
Nonetheless, he said he was fine with the quarantine he was under and was listening to doctors’ advice.
“I respect everything they say,” he said.
Shimshon noted, however, that his wife had been deeply upset by the ordeal and “it’s been a long story for all of us.”
“I tried to get everyone to talk with her and explain that everything’s ok, and pretty soon we’re going home,” he added.