The Stigma of COVID-19 Positive
The Coronavirus has rocked the world and has irrevocably altered the lives of everyone on the planet, and yet those who have been diagnosed with the virus have to deal with not only the physical and emotional challenges of dealing with such a serious disease, they also must deal with the bias and discrimination from those around them.
Betty Smith, an SCDN reporter, sat down for a very special interview with Angie Conn, a healthcare worker who was one of the first people in her town to test positive for the COVID-19 virus. Both Angie and her husband were diagnosed positive for the virus and had to undergo a full quarantine in order to follow state guidelines.
It took roughly a week after Angie and her husband had been exposed to the virus for the symptoms to begin appearing. When Angie received her results, she and her husband contacted the people that had been around them and her husband’s coworkers were also forced to undergo quarantine because he had worked while having the virus.
Angie explained her interview that it almost felt as if she was being discriminated against and persecuted for having the virus. She also described that the most difficult part of her experience was the mental and emotional distress caused by this guilt and stigma.
Being diagnosed with the coronavirus is already incredibly difficult and scary experience, and that difficulty should not be amplified by people imposing bias and stigma onto those who are already deeply suffering.