CHARLOTTE — A local woman who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from Germany got out of quarantine Wednesday.
“I left March 7 for Germany for my spring break to visit a friend,” Mary Prins said. “Then we got news about how there was a travel ban, so I came home a day early.”
The day she traveled home to Charlotte, Prins got a sore throat. Soon after, other symptoms started.
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"I started getting a headache,” Prins said. “I felt really hot. My bones were really achy, and it didn't feel right."
Her mother took her to urgent care after she arrived in Charlotte. Medical workers tested her for the flu, strep throat and COVID-19.
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“It was tough because the day that those tests for strep and flu came back negative, I was like, ‘OK, I have it,’ and just started crying,” Prins said.
Four days later, her coronavirus test results came back positive. For the next 14 days, Prins stayed in her room, isolated from her parents and her sister.
Prins said she started to feel better after a little more than 14 days. She said she considers herself lucky and hopes others will learn from her experience.
“I just think people really need to stay home and really take it seriously, because I think a lot of people don’t think it’s as serious as it is," Prins said.
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