The Director of Strategy and Business Operations at Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson has shared his harrowing experience after he tested positive for the deadly novel coronavirus.

Mr Jackson surprised Ghanaians when he announced on February 6 on Twitter that he had contracted the virus, but is currently recovering.

The astute businessman, who is now self-isolating at home, said he nearly lost his life while receiving treatment at the International Maritime Hospital (IMAH).

He revealed that he is diabetic, overweight and has a high blood pressure; a condition the medical professionals refer to as multiple comorbidities.

His condition, he said, kept him on his toes to constantly test for Covid-19 but the result always came out negative.

Giving more details in an interview on the AM Show Monday, Mr Jackson said, he started having symptoms of malaria accompanied by dry cough and cold which persisted for a while.

The symptoms, according to him, triggered his curiosity to run another Covid-19 test, but this time around he tested positive.

"For me, that was the killer, there was a dry cough and something like a cold. So I went for another test, two Thursdays ago and boom I tested positive, I was told to isolate at home.”

Sharing his ordeal, he indicated that the news of having the infection came as a big blow and a scary moment in his life, as he had witnessed close relatives succumb to Covid-19.

"There was one day when I was struggling with my breathing in the hospital, my chest was tight and I was scared, I really got a panic attack and it was a scary experience and I realized that there was something going wrong.

"I had a headache, a bad case of hiccups, fever, body aches and general debilitation and then, of course, my blood pressure was really chaotic, it was shooting up, one day it was 180/110. It’s been a scary experience because I know people who are dying. I have relatives who have died out of Covid,” he narrated.

Mr Jackson, recounting his experience, added that the issue of obesity was one of his challenging difficulties fighting the deadly disease.

In his view, battling the virus could be tough especially when you have an underlying health condition, but being obese is a dreadful experience in the fight against Covid.

Recounting one of his biggest challenges, he said, “even to get a CT scan of my chest, the equipment broke down in the IMAH hospital, we went to another place, they said you are too big to get into a CT scan so they could not get me a CT scan. I had to go to another place.

He said, at that point in his life, he told himself that, “You are so big you can’t get a CT scan. What on earth is wrong with you Joe Jackson, you’ve got to fix this and if you continue like this you are going to die.”  

Joe Jackson who is currently recovering from Covid-19 mentioned that the infection had crippled and weakened his system which has made it difficult to do basic things like having a short distance walk.

“I am feeling very weak, surprisingly weak, I mean I walk up the stairs and I am panting like I have been climbing the kilimanjaro.”

He further urged Ghanaians to put on their face masks and adhere strictly to all the Covid-19 safety protocols.