Utah Rep. Ben McAdams, the second member of Congress to be diagnosed with the coronavirus, shared that he feels sicker than he has in his entire life.
McAdams, 45, a Democrat representing Utah’s 4th District, was diagnosed with the virus on Wednesday shortly after GOP Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida announced his diagnosis.
The congressman joined CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to discuss how he was feeling on The Situation Room on Friday evening.
“I am at home feeling as sick as I’ve ever been,” he explained. “I’ve got really labored breathing. I feel like I have a belt around my chest that’s really tight. When I cough, my muscles are so sore, so I just feel pain every time I cough, which is frequently. I feel short of breath, and I have a fever of about 102 degrees. So, it’s pretty bad.”
He also warned others who are younger and may feel like they are immune to the virus or that it will not be debilitating should they contract the virus.
“I’m in good health, and it has knocked me down. So, we need to follow the guidelines to slow the spread of this. This is going to be bad,” the congressman shared.
Blitzer asked McAdams if he should be in the hospital, to which the congressman answered, “You know, I’m in communication with the doctor, and they said that right now, as long as it doesn’t get worse, I’m fine. The seventh and eighth day are kind of the worst days of it. And I’m entering my seventh day right now. So, we’re going to watch it pretty closely and make sure that it doesn’t get any worse. And I should be fine, I hope. But we’re watching it closely.”
More than 284,000 people have tested positive for the virus globally, which has resulted in nearly 12,000 deaths, while just shy of 90,000 people have recovered from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
