Some recovered COVID-19 patients tend to experience certain lingering smells By Ryan Cross | December 14, 2020 at 6:35 PM CST - Updated December 14 at 6:40 PM AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Some people who have recovered from COVID-19 canât get rid of a smell that sticks with them wherever they go. If you have or had COVID-19, you might notice something very unusual getting your daily morning cup of coffee. First you might not even be able to smell the coffee at all, second the coffee might give off a vile stench and third that stench might follow you everywhere you go. The smell of coffee is not the only thing that has changed for some people in our area.