DOWNEY — Councilman Rick Rodriguez has a message for residents anxious to go outside and resume normal activities: stay patient and stay home. 

Rodriguez is currently in self-quarantine after a week-long stay at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center, where he was admitted after experiencing breathing problems. 

Although he tested negative for the coronavirus, Rodriguez is in isolation after he was treated in the Covid-19 ward. 

“The Covid ward looks almost like it should be on Mars,” Rodriguez recalled. “It’s extreme isolation. The people that treat you look like astronauts. It’s almost like you’re a science project.” 

Rodriguez, who is Type 2 diabetic and has been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, went to the Downey hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties and an elevated heartbeat. He’s also coming off two surgeries within 90 days.

“The doctor told me it was one of two things: pneumonia or Covid,” Rodriguez said. He was admitted to the Covid-19 treatment ward where a test was administered. 

“It wasn’t pleasant,” Rodriguez said. “They take a long Q-tip and tongue suppressor and put it all the way down your throat. Then they put another one up my nose, almost to my eyeballs.” 

The test was negative but Rodriguez wasn’t out of the woods yet. A chest X-ray revealed fluid in his lungs and doctors transferred him to the ICU. 

“You're almost happy to go to ICU,” Rodriguez recalled. “When you leave, you're looking at the other people in the Covid-19 ward who may die, or who tested positive, and there’s no one there with them. There's no family, there's no chaplain. No one can go in there and pray for them.”

Rodriguez is home now in isolation, where his only companionship comes in the form of his two dogs. He’s staying on top of the news and tending to city business from home. 

“People who are complaining about bowling alleys not being open, or they can’t get a haircut or their favorite restaurant is closed, or they have to stay home, I think, ‘Oh my god. We’re at war,’” Rodriguez said.

“These doctors and nurses, they’re on the frontlines saving our residents’ lives. They're not thinking of themselves, they're thinking of others. And all they care about is that we’re staying home.”

Rodriguez also objected to protesters who are advocating for suspension of rent and mortgage payments. 

“It doesn’t matter if you can pay rent or not when you’re dead,” he said. 

Rodriguez says he’s feeling “pretty good” now and is looking forward to May 15, when the state’s quarantine order is currently set to expire. 

“I can’t wait to get out there and eat in our Downey restaurants and shop in our Downey stores,” Rodriguez said. “As soon as it’s safe to do so.”