Dr Ciara Kelly, a health journalist and former doctor, caught and recovered from coronavirus - here is her advice
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New data from Italy suggests the worst of the coronavirus outbreak might peak there this week - but its a different story for other countries where the spread of the virus is weeks behind.
One of those is Ireland, which has seen a steady rise in cases over recent days. But one former doctor, who now works as a health journalist in Ireland told Euronews: "We are not doing worse, we are just experiencing it a bit later."
Ciara Kelly contracted COVID-19 herself, so she knows how it feels for the majority of people who become infected. She had mild to moderate symptoms, which were "unpleasant enough" and lasted for two weeks.
But she tells those who are worrying not to "let your fears run away with you", saying for most people it is a manageable illness and although you may feel unwell, you will recover.
And she had three key pieces of advice.
- If you're unwell, self-isolate immediately: “Take yourself out of circulation so you cannot spread the virus further."
- If you’re well but you need to leave the home for an essential journey, practice “rigorous social distancing”: “If you're not close enough to people to breath or cough on them, if you're not touching lots of surfaces, if you're not doing those types of things you can't pass or contract the virus,” she said.
- If you’re vulnerable - cocoon: “Take yourself entirely out of circulation, you must stay home”.