GA Coronavirus: Marietta City Councilwoman Tests Positive

MARIETTA, GA — Marietta City Councilwoman Cheryl Richardson said that she tested positive for the new coronavirus. She’s been in self-quarantine for a week. Richardson tells WAGA that she didn’t experience any of the symptoms for days.

She even attended a play last week at the Cobb Energy Center and felt no immediate symptoms. The next morning, March 11, however, the Marietta councilwoman says she experienced coronavirus symptoms.

"You don't realize you're sick until you've probably infected someone else," Richardson tells the news station.

She said the symptoms were so bad that she went to the emergency room.

"My back was hurting me, my chest felt like it was on fire, my body was aching, just hurting all over," she said. "I've been taking baths in Epsom salt just so I can get to sleep."

She said she believes she may have contracted the coronavirus during recent travel to Boston. She was helping her family plan a memorial service for her father after he died.

Richardson said she hopes people will learn about her experience and choose to stay home. According to her doctors, it could take as long as a month to recover. She’s currently taking multiple medications to help with the symptoms.

Globally, more than 205,000 people have been infected and more than 8,000 people have died from the COVID-19, Johns Hopkins reported Wednesday. Of that total, more than 81,000 confirmed cases are in China, while the entire United States has 6,500 confirmed cases as of Wednesday. Fifty-five deaths in the U.S. have been tied to the virus outbreak.

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