Woman Discovers How She Contracted COVID-19, Despite Not Leaving House in Over 3 Weeks

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A Charlotte woman was perplexed as to how she tested positive for coronavirus despite not leaving her house in over three weeks.

Rachel Brummert first started to self-quarantine on March 15th. Since that day, she only left the house once to go to the pharmacy on March 18th.

Several days later, she began to first feel ill. At first it wasn’t clear if it was related to COVID-19, but her symptoms progressed and she experienced headaches, cough, fever, loss of smell and taste and shortness of breath.

“I’ve never had anything like this before,” she said. “I’ve had the flu. This is not the flu. It’s a whole nother monster.”

Brummert, who suffers from an underlying autoimmune disorder, was taken to the emergency room on April 5th and administered a coronavirus test. Four days later, the results came back positive.

Brummert was shocked when the diagnosis confirmed her worst fears.

“I really thought I was doing everything right,” she told WCNC.

Brummert self-isolated and moved into a separate room from her husband. She was also vigilant about washing her hands, wearing gloves and maintaining social distancing protocols.

Other than her spouse, she said the only person she came into contact in over three weeks was a woman who dropped off groceries. 

While Brummert made sure to keep her distance and wore gloves during their interaction, the delivery woman later tested positive for coronavirus too.

“I barely had any contact,” Brummert said. “I didn’t even touch her.”

After retracing her steps, medical staff were able to solve the mystery of how Brummert contracted COVID-19, reported WWL-TV.

Earlier this week, an epidemiologist informed her that they traced her exposure to the keypad at the pharmacy she visited back on March 18th.

"I felt a little relieved it wasn't the groceries," Brummert told WCNC in a follow-up interview. "When you pick up a prescription, you have to sign for it."

Luckily, she hasn’t had a fever in three days and is now feeling better.

"It's been a horrible few weeks both physically and emotionally and I really want to move on," she said.