COVID-19: Celebrity Survivors Share Experiences and Messages of Hope
Nigerian music star, Peter Okoye professionally known as Mr P, took everyone by surprise when he disclosed that he had been ill with the raging COVID-19 on Saturday. Okoye also revealed that his wife, Lola, daughter Aliona and two of their domestic workers were also infected and treated over a period of three weeks.
In a four minutes video that went viral on social media, Mr P, a member of the defunct Nigerian pop group, P-Square, narrated how his family fared during the period of their illness.
“I have been sick. I have been ill and most people didn’t even know what was wrong with me.”
He continued: “I kept it to myself for three weeks. It’s been three weeks of hell for me and my family. I had Covid-19 for about 3 weeks.
“For those who noticed I was in my room during my draw instead of my usual location. I was self-isolated.”
He disclosed: “I was imprisoned in my own house and it was just me. I was sick and I tested positive.”
The music star continued; “It’s been hell for this family and this house, it wasn’t just me but two of my domestic staff. Then after a week, my daughter caught the virus as well but it was sad that when she caught it; the doctor insisted that she has to be self-isolated in her own room. But my wife did something very courageous.
“She picked our daughter from her room, held her and took her to the master bedroom and she called me and she started crying. I asked her what happened and she said I cannot live with this girl alone. I would rather be infected and be with her.
“Five or six days later, my daughter was pronounced negative. When she was pronounced negative, we knew it wasn’t going to end there. The next day, Lola became positive. It has been hell but we had a bad experience.”
Like Mr P, quite a number of celebrities in and outside Nigeria have over the past weeks revealed their COVID-19 statuses and how they dealt with it, and spread messages to convince people of the existence of the disease, how to keep safe and hope that people do recover.
COVID-19 positive celebrities
At the last count, records say there have been over 10 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world and some celebrities have come forward to say they’ve been stricken by the illness.
From America’s Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Idris Elba, Pink, Greg Rikaart, to Nigeria’s Azadus, Chioma Rowland, and Mr P, it is evident that the virus is not a respecter of anyone.
Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson: These American celebrity couples confirmed that they tested positive while they were in Australia.
Hanks was in Australia for the production of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic, in which he plays Colonel Tom Parker, when he announced he had contracted the disease, alongside his wife. This was way back in March.
“Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive,” he wrote on Instagram on March 12.
Some days after being diagnosed with the virus, the celebrity couples returned to their home in the United States. By then, they had both recovered from the infectious disease. Hanks revealed this in a tweet on March 28; “Hey, Folks… We’re home now and, like the rest of America, we carry on with sheltering in place and social distancing. Many, many thanks to everyone in Australia who looked after us. Their care and guidance made possible our return to the USA,”
Idris Elba: In a similar occurrence, this American actor and his wife, Sabrina Dhowre Elba, contracted COVID-19. Like Hanks, Elba himself announced this on March 20, in a tweet as follows: “This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus.”
A week after testing positive, Elba’s wife confirmed she had also contracted the disease. “I could have made the decision to put myself, maybe, in a separate room or stay away but I made the decision to want to be with him and, you know, still touch him,” she said during a FaceTime episode of Oprah Talks: COVID-19 on Apple TV.
Shortly after, they both tested negative to the virus.
Pink: This American music star disclosed that she and her son spent weeks in isolation after positive tests for Covid-19. But a few days after testing positive, they both tested negative for the deadly infection.
According to the Just Give Me a Reason singer, when she and 3-year-old Jameson started showing symptoms, they were already sheltering in place.
Pink wrote in an Instagram post in April: “Two weeks ago my three-year-old son, Jameson, and I were showing symptoms of COVID-19. Fortunately, our primary care physician had access to tests and I tested positive. My family was already sheltering at home and continued to do so for the last two weeks following the instruction of our doctor. Just a few days ago, we were re-tested and are now thankfully negative.”
Greg Rikaart: Best known for his close to 15-year run as Kevin Fisher on CBS show, Young and the Restless, he had been experiencing symptoms for a while and was initially diagnosed with pneumonia.
He wrote in an Instagram post on March 23, that: “I just tested positive for coronavirus. I am a pretty healthy 43-year-old who doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink much, eats well and exercises regularly and this has been the hardest experience of my life. Two plus weeks ago, everyone in my house had a bit of a cough and my son came home from school with a high fever. Everyone recovered, but I deteriorated. I am isolated from my family and have been in solo quarantine since Saturday the 14th. I had a fever for 11 days, difficulty breathing and was diagnosed with pneumonia.”
Daniel Dae Kim: Sharing his diagnosis in a 10-minute Instagram video, the Lost actor said he tested positive for COVID-19 on March 18. He announced he was “virus-free,” 10 days after publicly revealing his status.
He has written: “This disease is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced and this past week was no exception. So, the day after my last video, my course of treatment ended,” the actor revealed on social media. “I was feeling healthier, as I mentioned, and I thought it would be good to just let my immune system take charge the rest of the way. But, maybe I was a bit too confident. A day after, I started to feel sluggish, tired. I was still congested and weirdly I lost my sense of smell, which led to a loss of sense of taste.”
Azadus: Having tested positive to the dreadful virus, the Nigerian veteran singer said he was admitted into one of the Isolation centers in Lagos.
Recall that in June 17, the veteran singer took to Instagram to share photos from the facility where he received treatment as he appealed to members of the public to take cautions. “I didn’t realise what I had was COVID-19 until my doctor asked me to just go and do the test.”
He continued: “I had been going from one hospital to the other, I had been talking to different doctors. I thought I was dealing with malaria or malaria and typhoid. But after a while, my doctor said since, unfortunately, we’ve not been able to get you up and running, why don’t you go and check if what we are dealing with is COVID-19 or not.
“That was how I went to the isolation centre and I got tested. Unfortunately, when I got home, the symptoms became much more intense. So I had to go back to the isolation centre; to complain that I may not make it through the 72 hours I was meant to wait till my test result comes out.
“Glory be to God, they admitted me and the result came to me while I was in the isolation centre receiving treatment;” he narrated how he was diagnosed with the virus to Premium Times.
Chioma Rowland: The Fiancée of Nigerian musician, Davido, also tested positive for COVID-19. Following their return from the UK; Davido disclosed that his fiancée had gone into self-isolation after being diagnosed with the virus. “I came back recently from America after cancelling my tour. My fiancée Chioma also came back from London recently with our baby. We had no symptoms and still both feel perfectly fine.
“But because of our recent travel history; we decided to take ourselves and our all close associates we’ve come in recent contact with for the COVID-19 test on the 25th of March. Unfortunately, my fiancé’s results came back positive while all 31 others tested have come back negative including our baby. We are however doing perfectly fine and she is even still yet to show any symptoms whatsoever. She is now being quarantined and I have also gone into full self-isolation for the minimum 14 days. I want to use this opportunity to thank you all for your endless love and prayers in advance,” he wrote on his social media page on March 27.
Two weeks after, Davido announced Chioma’s recovery, when he tweeted; “Glory be to God .. Chioma has now tested negative twice for Covid19 … Thank you all for prayers … . We love you.”
And They Say Covid is Real, So stay Safe….
Amid the coronavirus pandemic; members of the public have been taking to social media to express their thoughts on the raging disease.
While some people think the virus is not real, celebrities like Azadus urged everyone to take COVID-19 seriously; as the much-talked about infectious disease is real.
“Glory be to God I just got discharged of Covid-19. Half bread is better than puff-puff. That garri in your house is far better than the good meals you won’t be able to eat at the hospital.
“My Advice, if you must go out; see everyone as that COVID-19 itself and wash your hands for 40secs at the least.
“Meanwhile, if you insist that Covid-19 is not real, Covid-19 is not in Nigeria or Africa, haaaaaaaaaa well, don’t be shy to ask me questions,” he stated after recovering.”
More so, Elba, who starred in TV police drama Luther, and played the Norse god Heimdall in Avengers: Infinity War, advised his fans to stay at home, as the virus was out there.
“This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok. I have no symptoms so far; but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing… No panic,” Elba, 47, wrote while disclosing he contracted the virus.
On why he disclosed that he was diagnosed with the virus; Mr P told his fans and members of the public that:
“I want to encourage a lot of people concerning this whole social distancing and getting used to sanitising your hand; disinfecting your environment, and wearing your face mask.”
While making known a N315 million donation to the fight against the disease; Pink who battled the virus for two weeks called the illness serious, as she stated that:
“People need to know that the illness affects the young and old, healthy and unhealthy, rich and poor. And we must make testing free and more widely accessible to protect our children, our families, our friends, and our communities.”
Although many people across the world, but more so in Nigerian doubt the existence of the virus, listening to live experiences from their celebrities will hopefully convince more people to stay safe as the world races to find a vaccines against the virus.
