中國日報記者在國外確診：“以爲得了感冒，沒想到是新冠……”

原標題：記者在國外確診：“以爲得了感冒，沒想到是新冠……”

來源：中國日報

近日，中國日報英國分社記者用文字記錄下了他從確診新冠到最終康復的全過程。最開始他只是感到嗓子疼、鼻塞，以爲這不過是一場感冒，沒想到他被確診爲新冠陽性。痊癒後，他通過記者手記的方式回溯了這一經歷。

起初，我感到嗓子疼和鼻塞。我沒多想，覺得自己大概只是感冒了，因爲我並沒有新冠的典型症狀，沒有發燒、沒有持續咳嗽、也沒有失去味覺或嗅覺。

For me， it all began with a sore throat followed by a stuffy nose． I didn‘t think too much about it， other than possibly having caught a cold， as my symptoms were nothing like those for the coronavirus — a high temperature， continuous cough or loss of senses like smell and taste．

王銘潔/ChinaDaily

但我還是覺得有必要做個核酸檢測。第二天，我的口腔出現病損，頭也有點疼，於是跟倫敦辦公室告了病假。很快，檢測結果猶如投下一顆重磅炸彈：是陽性，我確診新冠了。

Still， I thought it was sensible to have a COVID-19 test． The following day， now experiencing some oral lesions and light headaches， I called in sick at the London bureau of China Daily． Shortly afterward， the bombshell landed — my test result came back as positive， meaning I had contracted COVID-19．

我始終不敢相信，拼命想要找到自己沒有感染的證據：我去聞威士忌酒瓶、去嘗醬料、老乾媽辣椒油……沒錯，我的味覺並沒什麼問題，一定是檢測結果出錯了。

In a state of denial， I tried to contradict the fact that I had caught the virus， smelling the contents of the whisky bottle， tasting the soy sauce dip， and even savoring the “Old Grandma” chili oil — all of which indicated my sense of taste was still intact． Surely the result was a mistake， I thought．

我盯着“陽性”兩個字良久，好像我盯久了，這兩個字就能變成“陰性”似的。但這明顯不可能。我曾經覺得，我年輕愛運動，還常跑馬拉松，即便感染了也不會有事，但我現在有點後悔這麼想了。萬一我挺不過去怎麼辦？隨着可能的結果飛速從我腦中閃過，我的呼吸也變得急促起來。

For quite a while， I gazed at the word “positive”， as if the result would miraculously alter the longer I stared at it． Obviously， it did not． I began to regret my own previous thinking that “I am young， sportive， and a regular marathon runner， so even if I am infected with the virus， I should be fine …” What if I‘m not？ My breathing became faster as my brain was racing through the potential consequences of the illness．

“我需要住院（就像首相鮑里斯·約翰遜那樣）在重症病房裏吸氧嗎？或者更糟，我會成爲英國6.8萬新冠死亡病例中的一個嗎？我要告訴我在中國的父母嗎？母親會作何反應呢？我現在該怎麼辦？”

“Do I need to be hospitalized （like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was） and given oxygen support in the intensive care unit？ Or even worse， would I end up like one of some 68，000 people in the United Kingdom who have lost their lives as a result of COVID-19？ Should I tell my parents in China？ How will my mother react？ What do I have to do now？”

根據英國政府“檢測和追蹤”的政策，我需要回憶我確診前幾日的行動軌跡，以此判斷我是什麼時候、怎麼被感染的；還需要找到我的密接者，告訴他們我的檢測結果。我想到：“是我在診所檢查膝蓋的時候感染的嗎？還是我在超市買東西的時候感染的？或者是我和互助羣的人一起在室外跑步感染的？”

As part of the government‘s Test and Trace scheme， I had to review my recent activities in the days prior to receiving my result， to identify when and where I could potentially have got infected， and the people with whom I came into contact so that I could notify them of my result． The questions tumbled into my head： “Was it when I went to the GP （general practitioner） clinic to check out my knee， or during my visit to the supermarket for grocery shopping， or even the weekend outdoor running with my support bubble？“

（“support bubble”是英國的抗疫措施之一，直譯是“支持泡泡”，指單身成年家庭可以與其他任何規模的家庭形成一個“互助羣”，羣內成員可以去彼此家裏過夜，而不必保持社交距離。）

我的確該通知我的密接者，這是毫無疑問的，因爲他們也有感染的風險，我確實也這麼做了。但我不能否認的是，在告知他們的過程中，我是帶着些許慚愧和不安，是有一絲不情願的。

Undoubtedly， it was the right thing to do to inform the people I have been in contact with while being potentially infectious， and I did so． But I cannot deny， there was a moment of unwillingness when I felt a bit ashamed and anxious to make such a move．

心理壓力

Psychological pressure

作爲員工，我也有義務告訴我的僱主。那天編輯日常詢問我的健康狀況，我坦白了：“知道自己確診新冠，心理上承受的壓力要遠大於身體上的。”但我也很有信心地告訴他，我很快就能復工。

As an employee， I had the obligation to inform my employer． While my editor was going through the routine procedure to query about my situation， I confessed to him： “Knowing that it is COVID-19， I felt more of a psychological strain than a physical one．” But I was confident to tell him that I would be back at work soon．

但遺憾的是，我並沒能立馬復工，病情比我想象的複雜得多。雖我沒有發燒，我確實感到頭暈，頭也針刺般地疼。

Sadly， that did not happen as the illness turned out to be more convoluted than I had imagined． Although I did not have a fever， I did suffer from some lightheadedness and tingling sensations in my head．

過了幾天，我失去了味覺。不論我在飯里加幾勺“老乾媽，也食不知味，嘗不出一丁點辣，只能嚐出食物的質地口感。

A few days later， I lost my sense of taste， and no matter how many spoonfuls of “Old Grandma” I added to my dish， I could not detect even the slightest of flavors， except the plain texture of the ingredients．

還好，失去味覺只是暫時的，過了一週，這些不適的症狀開始消退，我現在已經痊癒了。回想起來，最大的心得莫過於要耐心，靜待病毒消退。我原本想打破查理斯王子7天康復的記錄，但我並沒能做到。我後來意識到，年輕和健壯並不意味着好得快，病毒對人體的作用是因人而異的。

Thankfully， the loss of taste was temporary and all the major discomfort started to dispel after a week， and now I am recovered． On reflection， the main take-away for me is to be patient and let the virus run its own course． I was hoping to “beat” Prince Charles in terms of his seven-day recovery time， but again it did not happen， and I later realized that youth and fitness do not necessarily mean a quick recovery． The virus interacts with everybody differently．

這幾日的考驗是我生命中難忘的一段回憶，也是自身融入人類歷史的一段經歷。