By Natalie Anderson
natalie.anderson@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — At first, Doug Loeblein was skeptical that recent actions taken by government officials during the coronavirus outbreak were needed.

That was until he tested positive for COVID-19, a disease caused by coronavirus, himself.

Loeblein contacted the Salisbury Post Thursday night to share his experience with his diagnosis. The 56-year-old Salisbury resident said he began feeling weak when he was working out at The Forum on March 13. The following day, as he woke up prepared to do yard work, he began experiencing a fever.

On Saturday, March 14, he was at the property he owns on Lake Norman in Mooresville before returning home to Salisbury with a 102-degree fever.

Loeblein’s fever increased to 103 degrees on Sunday, March 15, and he took ibuprofen to try and lower it. He thought his illness could’ve been the flu. So, following a recommendation from his family doctor, he went to Carolinas Medical Center in Concord to get tested for the flu. But the Concord center was only testing for coronavirus, not the flu, he said. He then went to a Novant medical center located in Matthews.

His testing experience took hours. After an hour-long wait in line to check in, Loeblein said he waited another three hours before being tested for the flu and then another hour to receive the negative flu results.

He was then swabbed in his throat and notified he’d receive his results within a few days. Novant Health in Winston-Salem called Thursday afternoon to confirm he had tested positive for the coronavirus, he said.

The Rowan County Health Department confirmed that it received notification of a second positive case of coronavirus in the county on Thursday, but the department declined to confirm or deny any identifying information about the individual.

Rowan County officials also declared a state of emergency on Friday shortly before announcing the county had a second case of COVID-19. A state of emergency allows emergency funding and resources to be funneled to the county if needed during this time.

The only symptoms Loeblein said he has experienced include a fever and severe night sweats. Symptoms of the coronavirus can include a dry cough, sore throat, fever and difficulty breathing.

Since Loeblein doesn’t have any underlying health conditions, he was instructed to get rest, drink fluids and continue his self-quarantine that he had already began on Saturday. His wife and three children are also self-quarantining with him, though they’re mad about it, he said. As of right now, his wife and children aren’t displaying any symptoms of the coronavirus.

Three other families who had been in contact with him are also self-quarantining right now, he said.

Since his positive test results, Loeblein’s received numerous calls from health care professionals to investigate anyone he had contact with or anyone who could also be at risk during this time. He said the county health department has “done a good job” of reaching out to those people.

He suspected he might have been exposed to the virus during a conference that took place in Jacksonville, Florida, on Feb. 24. But health care professionals have said it’s not likely that’s where he caught the virus. So, he’s run a number of other possibilities through his head, none of which he’s certain about.

Between the time he started feeling symptoms until he was tested, he had only visited the gym and work. He works at Taylor Clay Products, and no one there is sick to his knowledge. At the gym, Loeblein said he wasn’t within 6 feet of anyone else because he preferred working out alone that day due to feeling under the weather.

The Forum co-owner Matthew Marsh said he’s been frequently reaching out to the Rowan County Health Department to stay updated on any changes or new recommendations, but he’s been complying with the state executive order, which restricts gatherings of more than 100 people. The Forum has modified its hours for both the gym and childcare services, and it has suspended GroupX classes during this time.

Marsh said gym members have asked him not to close the gym, so he’s stayed open for the gym members who feel they’re responsible enough to workout and still be cautious. Thus, he’s encouraged people to only visit the gym if they’re not ill, maintain a safe distance away from others working out and he’s implemented extra cleaning procedures. Additionally, The Forum has vinyl gloves for people to use during their workout.

However, he said the gym usage is down by about 40%.

Additionally, Marsh said no health official has reached out to him yet, as of Saturday afternoon, regarding the second confirmed case of COVID-19.

Loeblein’s initial skepticism has now been replaced with an awareness that “the community is doing the right thing,” he said, “now that it’s hit home.”

Had the churches not taken precautions to postpone gatherings in person for now, Loeblein said he could have come into contact with dozens more people while he was sick, as he would have normally spent hours at his home church on Monday and Tuesday.

Loeblein said the community shouldn’t take the virus outbreak lightly.

“The scary thing is we have no idea where I contracted this,” he said. “We’re so intertwined with each other in this web. I get sick, and next thing you know, there’s families who could be affected.”

As of Friday evening, Loeblein said he’s been taking one tablet of Tylenol to knock out the fever, but he mostly just feels tired.

Contact reporter Natalie Anderson at 704-797-4246.