I think I had coronavirus at the end of January - possible??

[TheTigerKing]

Hi all

I know this has been done to death but I just can't stop it niggling away at the back of my mind. I think I had coronavirus at the end of January.

I'm in the UK. I work in a school. At the time I was the first one in school to have these symptoms but afterwards many other adults and children went down with a virus the doctors said was flu like but not flu, and was unlike anything they'd seen. Two of the staff had pneumonia very shortly afterwards. Lots of us were very ill indeed and it's very different from anything we've had before.

My symptoms:
A dry cough and mild temperature for a week
A dry cough where I couldn't catch my breath for another wee but no temperature
The last week of January on the Monday woke up with a headache unlike any I've ever had and went to work late then collapsed
That whole week could barely move. Headache, mild stomach issues. Cough, felt like couldn't get enough oxygen. Slept around 20 hours a day.
That weekend major headache.
3am Monday morning terrible diarrhoea that went on until 10 am even with loperamide.
Cough that continued for another two weeks with periods of breathlessness and dizziness.
Eventually went away but very tired.

What do you think? I know it's before our government said community transmission was happening - I hadn't been away. But I'm hearing all this stuff about how it was probably in Europe way before we thought...

Bump

Yes x

@copperoliver thank you x

I went skiing mid Jan, had awful chest infection and cough for 5 weeks afterwards. I'm a teacher, there were a lot of coughing kids, I assume it was from them. Who knows tho. OH then got it, he's been trying to dig today and got really breathless, wondered out loud if he's had it. Our child had the same thing, conjunctivitis the lot.

Maybe. I had similar as did DS and DD at the end of Feb. Could have been corona could have just been a random virus. We'll never know I guess.

Yup so many with the same story I think the antibody tests will show tons of us have had it

I had symptoms starting 20th Jan. Massively sore throat, wheezing, rattly windpipe, Pain all around windpipe and chest. Heartburn, mouth ulcer, and day 8 brought a bout of breathlessness the likes of which I’ve never experienced before. Then lost my voice.

3 months later I still get the occasional breathlessness.

Who knows! I can’t wait until there’s an antibody test.

There were direct flights from Wuhan into Heathrow, exchange students from Wuhan going to Cambridge and Yorkshire.
Trsnsmission in China well under way by January and then healthy to travel people entering the UK, so if you look at the probabilities of several of these being highly contagious non symptomatic spreaders, it is highly likely.
People will argue that we had no dramatic increase in deaths at that time but could be due to;
Lack of reporting and understanding it was corona
Mostly healthy and active people getting it first ( mild or comparable to annual flu)
It then took time to trickle to everyone else.
Maybe it went firstly travellers, students and business men ( generally fitter, younger)
Then affluent families getting winter sun or skiers, so in turn spread to gyms, workplaces, schools and colleges, many of these would be asymptomatic.
Then the associates of these people, extended families and friends, finally the less mobile and people who dont leave the house much in the winter maybe due to poor health or preference.
It stands to reason the fitter spread it around first as they are much more likely to be at work/ socialise, exercise and travel?

Did anyone in your school report complete loss of taste and smell? That's one of the most common symptoms of Covid-19, so would have expected at least some to experience that if it was Covid-19.

Business men and Women!!

Definitely possible.
I'm hardly ever ill, but I came down with the most horrendous high, dry continuous cough at the end of last year.
Antibiotics, steroids wouldn't shift it and I struggled breathing.
Only just started getting back to normal past couple of months or so.
In my opinion there was definitely something going round end of last year that was full on nasty,

"It stands to reason the fitter spread it around first as they are much more likely to be at work/ socialise, exercise and travel"

I disagree.

You make it sound like everyone who has died it's 90 years old and on the bones of their arse in every sense of the word.

Many travellers in the winter months are retired. In what way are "business men" fitter than any other group? You seriously do not need to be "affluent" to use the airport in winter months either.

Thanks everyone. It's useful to get other opinions as I've convinced myself that's what it was. It's useful to look at it from other perspectives.