Former city council member urges everyone to wear masks after battling COVID-19 himself

ATLANTA — A former Atlanta city councilman is urging people to get tested for COVID-19 after he himself battled the deadly virus.

Kwanza Hall told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington that he was actually scared to sleep at night because he didn’t know if he would wake up.

“I was hit by an 18-wheeler. It felt like a truck hit me,” Hall said about how he felt. “That lung thing — it tightens up your breathing, and the pain is unbelievable.”

There was a point where Hall, who is a candidate for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, thought he wouldn’t make it.

Hall said he first felt the symptoms in early July.

“Body aches, fevers, chills. 102-, 103-fever,” Hall said.

That’s when he got tested for the coronavirus and got the results.

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“And I was like, ‘I have the antibodies,’” Hall said.

Hall said he spent most of his time at home, trying all kinds of remedies to get rid of the fever, body aches and chills.

He told Washington that he had little-to-no appetite but was able to hold down some spicy soup.

He self-quarantined and, later, started to recover.

“Initially, I said, ‘It was just me and God,’ to my friend. But actually, it was just God because I couldn’t do anything about this situation,” Hall said.

Now, he is begging people to wear masks, double-down on sanitation and to take the virus seriously.

“I encourage people to be a little more responsible and thoughtful of others because you don’t know if you’re impacting another person,” Hall said.

He told Washington that it’s important to have more testing available, such as specific rapid testing, so people know their status and can take measures to better prevent the spread of this deadly virus.

Pandemic hits already financially strapped HBCUs especially hard The schools serve communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 both through infection-rates and financial hardship.

Cox Media Group