Local film director and YouTuber Dan Mace has confirmed that he is the 67th confirmed coronavirus case in the Western Cape. Posting a video to his YouTube channel on Sunday, Mace hoped that his public service announcement would help with the ongoing research into the virus.
The 30-year-old explained that at the time of contracting the virus, he was reasonably active, was on a vegan diet and was on medication for depression. His aim was to make it clear that he was in good health.
About a month ago Mace was residing at his Los Angeles apartment. He woke up with extreme fatigue and put it down to stress. The headache that came the morning after was "alarming".
His other symptoms included being out of breath. That night he woke up with intense night sweats. Mace then Googled his symptoms and nothing came up about the coronavirus.
"The only symptoms released then were that you would have muscle pain and a croaky throat," he said.
By then he had completely lost his sense of smell and loss of appetite. "I had a huge pain in my chest but still no runny nose and no phlegm in my chest," he added.
For the sake of authenticity, Mace posted a picture of his test results to Facebook. Picture: Dan Mace/Facebook
When he contacted his family doctor, one of the questions that he asked was had he been to China recently. He responded "no" and the doctor said there's no way he has the virus.
Looking for answers, Mace asked another doctor for the coronavirus test. Again, the doctor asked if he had been to China. Over the following weeks, Mace's symptoms seemed to subside.
But on March 10, he boarded an Emirates flight to Cape Town. On landing in Cape Town, he got screened for the virus. "They screened me and let me pass," he said.
He attended various events, including the Bazique Festival, prompting organisers to send out an alert to all festival goers on its Facebook page.