I am a 27-year-old neurology registrar working on the wards in a teaching hospital, Pedro Ernesto University Hospital. As a public health reference centre in Rio, we had prepared to receive coronavirus-infected patients, and I worried that sooner rather than later, I would contract the infection myself. I began to feel ill on Sunday, 21 March, just 1 week after the quarantine measures had started, despite using appropriate protective equipment. I had mild common influenza-like symptoms, including headache, cough, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing and moderate myalgia; I felt unwell but remained afebrile throughout. I was tested for the novel coronavirus on the third day. On the fourth and fifth days, I felt short of breath while doing household chores. I monitored my oxygen saturation at home, which remained at 99% at all times without oxygen supplementation. I auscultated my lungs and found no abnormalities.

After 6 days of symptoms, I awoke on a …