Amy Shircel was vomiting for days and was so weak she could barely walk.


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Amy Shircel thought she had a nasty cold.

The 22-year-old is healthy, active and well below the age considered high risk for novel coronavirus.

Then, Shircel's fever shot up to 102. She began vomiting. She lost her energy. She couldn't make it to her refrigerator without losing her breath.


Her symptoms began on March 15, she said. Initially, she just had a cough and felt weaker than usual.

The next morning, she developed a fever. Shircel, a resident of Kenosha, Wisconsin, opted to get tested for coronavirus as a precaution, but said she didn't think she actually had the disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that older adults (65 and older) and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions may be at higher risk for more severe complications. However, there have been a number of younger Americans, including those without underlying conditions, who have become seriously ill or died and officials increasingly warn that it can strike anyone.


Yet, as she waited to receive her test results, her condition worsened.

Days later, on March 19, her results came back. Test results provided to ABC News by Shircel showed a positive result.





Coronavirus, has infected more than 962,000 people around the world, according to data by Johns Hopkins University. In the U.S., there are at least 216,768 cases in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.