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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Will Stewart

Russia's youngest coronavirus victim, 36, blogged her grim 8-day descent to death

The youngest person to die of Covid-19 in Russia chronicled her struggle with the disease.

Anastasia Petrova died eight days after she first got a fever.

The single mum, who was editor of business magazine, posted on her blog right up until her death on March 31.

In her final days the 36-year-old was working from her home in Perm, looking after her sons Ilya, 12, and Yaroslav, 10.

On Monday last week she appeared cheerful, joking that training for an online lecture at home felt like a "vacation".

The mum was just 36-years-old (VK.com)

That evening her fever rose and the following morning her throat was sore.

She also developed a serious cough.

Anastasia called her doctor and explained that three people who had been abroad recently had been in contact with her.

The medic recommended that she checked her temperature every 20 minutes and take paracetamol.

"You can see how it drops from 38.4C to 37.3C," she wrote in her blog.

"I believe it's just ARVI (Acute Respiratory Viral Infection), by the way (not coronavirus )."

That evening her "favourite local doctor" came round to her house and spoke to her, while keeping a metre away.

She was looked after in an intensive care ward in Perm (Stopcoronavirus.Perm)

Anastasia wrote: "She promised they would come and take a test on corona and asked not to leave home for 14 days, or at least until I had a negative test.

"We giggled about issuing me a sick note…for ARVI …she had visited 32 sick people today."

The mum took time away from parenting and getting herself better to comment on the day's political issues, questioning why people had criticised Russia for sending help to Italy.

She wrote: "These doctors we sent to Italy will later be able to save Russian patients.

"This is perhaps one of the "helping" actions of our government with which I completely agree."

On March 24, just a day after she first noted her symptoms, Anastasia found herself in hospital.

"The resuscitators came with a ventilator, very cool and professional," she wrote from her intensive care bed.

Marina Shilova, Anastasia's mum (VK.com)

"They wear masks for snorkelling, by the way. In addition to masks for their mouth and nose."

Later Anastasia posted: "Neither I nor the doctors think that it is coronavirus - the totality of symptoms suggests both this and ordinary flu.

"The doctors made the decision about hospitalisation based on the state of my lungs, a very high temperature and my anamnesis [medical history]."

She added: "No strength, I sleep 90 per cent of the time."

Anstasia tested negative for the coronavirus on March 27, only to produce a positive test the following day.

But later her friend revealed Anastasia’s messaged her the following day, with alarm in her voice: "Yulia, my second test was positive. I feel very bad." 

This was her last communication and she died on Tuesday 31 March.

Perm Medical-Sanitary Unit No. 1 where Anastasia died (Yandex)

Not for the first time in Russia, there is a suspicion that her death was being listed as something other than coronavirus. 

This prompted a furious reaction from the acting governor of Perm region Dmitry Makhonin who said: “The death of journalist Anastasia Petrova has caused a great public outcry. 

“If it was known that she had coronavirus, why are they silent about this? 

“It is unacceptable to hide information from the public.

“We must not lie to the people.” 

Anastasia’s two sons are reported to be negative for coronavirus and will be raised by her mother, Marina, also an editor.

A friend called Tatyana Cherepanova posted a public message to the distraught Marina, 58, saying that Anastasia was "unusually gifted, talented, with such a fine mental abilities”.

She told the bereft Marina:  “You must now raise your grandchildren, cherish your memories of your daughter, and edit your newspaper ... 

“You are very strong.

“You can do it. May God give you strength.”

Russia has reported 3,548 cases of the coronavirus, with 30 people having died of Covid-19.

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