Liliana Gallegos says she could not breathe and had chest pains when she was infected with the novel coronavirus.
“Back then, even myself, I wasn’t masking up,” Liliana Gallegos said. “I was like, ‘it’s not that serious. It was like a cold or flu.’”
It was far from a cold or flu. Gallegos was diagnosed with COVID-19 in April, and she wasn’t the only one in her household. Her 63-year-old father and her children also got infected. Later, her fiancé got sick.
“He passed it on, and all his co-workers caught COVID. It just spread, and we were not cautious about that at that time,” said Gallegos.
Gallegos recovered 17 days later. The experience gave her a new perspective.
“I think it’s so important to take the precautions they are telling us. Six feet apart, sanitize, wear your mask,” she said.
More than 1,000 hospitals in the U.S. are teaming up to encourage everyone to stay safe.
The Every Mask Up (#EveryMaskUp) campaign provides vital health resources and has developed messages on a variety of digital platforms to get the word out.
Medical experts say wearing a mask is the best chance of slowing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Right now, more than 13 million Americans are infected, and more than 250,000 have died.