Flagler County

‘This is nothing like the flu’: Local high school principal tests positive for COVID-19

File photo: COVID-19 File photo: Coronavirus

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — A local high school principal said he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Flagler Palm Coast High School principal Tom Russell said he tested positive for the virus on Monday after quarantining since Nov. 9, when he was notified through contact tracing that he may have been exposed outside of school.

READ: Where are toilet paper, paper towels? Stores seeing shortage again as COVID-19 cases skyrocket

While he said his case has been mild, he said his symptoms have been varied and worse than any case of the flu. He said he’s experienced: fever, chills, painful cramps, loss of breath, extreme fatigue, sore throat, excessive coughing, headaches, a loss of focus and problems communicating when speaking.

“Allow me to be blunt this is nothing like the flu!” Russell wrote in a post on the school’s Facebook page. “Covid wrecks the body in so many ways and never the same way twice.”

READ: Coronavirus: How COVID-19 progresses; a day-by-day breakdown of symptoms

Russell said he hopes by being honest and open about his experience, he can encourage people to do what they can to stay safe.

Stay tuned to Channel 9 Eyewitness News for updates.

Good afternoon Bulldog Community, As many of you have heard, I informed my faculty that I tested positive for COVID-19...

Posted by Flagler Palm Coast High School on Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.

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