East Naples woman choosing to self-isolate to protect herself from coronavirus

Officials say if you have an underlying autoimmune disease or conditions, you should take extra precautions to fight the coronavirus.

One Southwest Florida woman is taking that advice to heart.

Ruth Hubing, 68, doesn’t have the coronavirus, but she’s not taking any chances.

“The Amazon delivery guy has become my best friend,” she said.

Unless it’s an emergency, she’s self-isolating in her home in East Naples. Hubing says she’s not sick and plans to stay that way.

“I had a couple routine doctors appointments, follow up appointments—I canceled them,” she told us over FaceTime. “There’s just no need to be over there right now. There’s no reason for me to go out to the store; it makes no sense.”

But Hubin does have an autoimmune disease, so she knows she’s vulnerable to the virus.

“If you’ve got a new virus that has a mortality rate as high as it does, it just makes sense to take precautions. I mean, we should be taking precautions all the time anyway, but this one is a nasty one,” she said.

Hubin said she’s not scared for herself, but afraid for the elderly in nursing homes she used to work for.

“I’ve watched so many die a few years ago just from the regular flu,” she said. “Those are the people I’m afraid for.”

For now, phone calls and conversations with the delivery man will keep her entertained.

If Hubing does need to leave her home in the case of an emergency, she said she’ll be wearing gloves and a mask.