Mayor on bout with COVID: Hard, so please don’t get infected

April 21, 2021 – Mayor Benjamin Magalong had a difficult bout with Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and wants people to learn from his experience.

“It was a struggle for me.  So the lesson to learn here is to not get infected.  Do your best to protect yourselves and your families to avoid a similar experience,” the mayor said as he reported back to full time work last April 19.

A lot of patients who were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms may not have encountered severe symptoms or complications while fighting the virus but not everyone was as lucky, as in the mayor’s case.

“It was very different from all the other illnesses that I had experienced,” the mayor recounted.

He said he had a mild infection that did not progress to pneumonia or any lung infection but the virus aggravated his rhinitis that triggered extreme pains.

The secondary bacterial infection affected his speech and caused migraines and required massive medication of antibiotics, anti-allergy, decongestants and pain relievers.

The mayor said he also lost his senses of taste and smell and his appetite, had a bloated feeling and difficulty sleeping and was easily tired.

Throughout his ordeal, he remained on home care.

“Kulang ang hospital beds at marami nangangailangan e ako naman e mild (case) lang ako,” he said.

He reminded people to double efforts to guard against the virus especially with the presence of more transmissible ones.

“With the rate our infection is increasing, I suspect that the UK variant is now widespread in the city so please don’t let your guard down,” he said.

Health authorities said the minimum public health standards remain as the best weapon against contracting the disease: Wear your masks, wash hands, disinfect, avoid crowding, open your windows and stay home if you can help it. – Aileen P. Refuerzo