Commissioner Nancy Detert Discusses Bout With Coronavirus

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL – During Tuesday’s Sarasota County Commission meeting, Commissioner Nancy Detert discussed her recent bout with coronavirus.

She missed the first two commission meetings in January because of her illness, which she described as “a rather startling experience,” though her symptoms were mild.

Initially, Detert thought she had a cold and told her son that she couldn’t attend his birthday party because she was sick. Though she had no fever and only exhibited “flat-out cold symptoms,” her daughter-in-law suggested she get tested for COVID-19.

“I thought, well, maybe I should get tested. I’ve never been tested,” she said.

She got tested at the drive-thru site set up at the former Sarasota Kennel Club located at 5400 Bradenton Road. By the time she got back to her Venice home 45 minutes later, Detert “had (her) results on (her) phone and, unfortunately, it was positive,” she said.

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She quarantined for 14 days after receiving her positive coronavirus test result.

“I feel very lucky and blessed that I had very mild symptoms for the next three days,” Detert said, adding that her worst symptom was “extreme exhaustion, but nothing horrible that I couldn’t deal with.”

She encourages others experiencing similar symptoms to get tested for COVID-19.

“My cautionary tale is that even if you had mild symptoms (get tested.) If I wouldn’t have gotten tested and continued to think I had a cold, I would have been walking around my community maybe infecting people,” she said.