Feature: Hard working cop’s life changes after testing positive for Covid-19

by Konstandina Martucci
edited by Margaret Oconnell

Jerry Bernardo woke up at the crack of dawn to get ready to go to work. He loved his job being a local policeman in Florida.

He felt responsible to help the locals with anything they needed, especially during the Covid-19 virus outbreak. He put on his police uniform, reached for his belt and filled the holsters with his gun, taser, flashlight, and baton. He looked down at his belt and realized nothing he had on  could  assist with any of the problems people are going through today with the coronavirus.

8:00 a.m struck the clock and Jerry  kissed his wife goodbye, checked to make sure his daughter was asleep, and headed to work. During his commute he thought to himself, “It is good nobody is on the roads and out during quarantine, but it makes me anxious every time to remember life as we knew it isn’t going back to normal anytime soon.”

At the station he started on his paperwork  for the day, but he got stopped in the middle of it.

Jerry’s sergeant said, “Okay everybody, listen up, today we will be taking you in one by one to be tested for Covid-19. This is now a mandatory procedure for all police officers to be tested for the virus, we can’t risk giving it to any civilians. Now, after everyone is tested we will call in the people who are positive, hopefully I don’t have to call anyone in, good luck.”

Jerry quivered at the thought of having this virus, but he shook it off.

In the middle of his shift Jerry heard, “Jerry Bernardo, come on in.” Jerry was sitting and watching the doctor step by step, he was nervous and clearly showing it when the doctor said, “Try not to worry so much, this is just a precaution.”

Jerry took a deep breath and waited for it to be over. He was sent back to work and had no indication that he would be called into the quarantine room once everyone got their results. 6:00 p.m came and it was almost the end of Jerry’s work day, nobody has been called by the sergeant yet when Jerry heard his sergeant say, “Come with me.”

Jerry looked at his sergeant with a horrified face, but his sergeant couldn’t even look Jerry in the eyes when he said you have tested positive.

Jerry screamed, “What about my family! What am I going to do? how the hell am I supposed to protect them! Or anybody for that matter?”

His sergeant was sympathetic, but his only advice was to call his family and try to work out a plan to keep them safe. Jerry called his wife with the news and told her to stay with her parents for the time being. “Give our little girl a kiss for me,” he said.

Jerry returned to his empty home, sat on his couch and cried, when he was stopped by the sound of his phone ringing. He picked it up to hear the doctor that tested him earlier say, “Jerry, I looked back at your results and identified if you haven’t felt sick at all so far then there is a chance you’re just a carrier of the virus.  You may not get sick or have any of the side-effects, just keep yourself quarantined for a month and call me again with how you are feeling.”

A month later Jerry was still feeling fine.  He had never felt sick or weak, and that was what bothered him the most.  “How can I have this killer virus and not feel anything, how can this be possible,” he thought.

Jerry followed the protocol because he didn’t want to risk giving this virus to anyone. “I never would have expected to contract the virus,” he said.  “I don’t know who gave it to me or how I got it, but I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemies. I guess I will live with this virus until someone comes up with a cure, everyone thinks it will never happen to them until it does.”