The coronavirus is known to cause temporary, and in some cases permanent, loss of taste and smell. Russell Donnelly is one of those Covid-19 patients who experienced these symptoms.
To demonstrate this, he made a TikTok video of himself consuming a raw onion, mustard sauce, sardines, lemon juice and other foods with a strong taste.
Donnelly said he tasted nothing.
In an interview with the New Jersey news site nj.com he said he decided to make the video for his friends and others on TikTok. Donnelly said his friends were finding it hard to believe that he couldn’t taste anything.
In the video Donnelly is seen biting into the raw onion and commenting that it has no taste. The same thing happens when he takes a shot of lemon juice – usually guaranteed to elicit a grimace. Even a spoon of garlic paste has no effect on his taste buds.
“I am currently Covid positive and I can’t taste anything. Everyone keeps telling me to try to eat some nasty stuff. But I don’t have any nasty stuff at my house so I figured I would just eat some stuff that would be strong or pungent,” he says in the video.
@rustardlikemustard Covid taste testing. This is the craziest sensation. #covid19 #fyp #MyHobby #fineart
♬ original sound - rustardlikemustard
Russell’s video has gone viral, receiving more than 17 million views so far.