Jessica Beatriz Cortez, a 32-year-old woman from California, succumbed to COVID-19 shortly after she found out she was sick with the spreading disease.
Cortez, who lived in Huntington Beach, near Los Angeles, first experienced symptoms of the virus a couple of days earlier, as it was reported by her relatives.
According to the brother of the deceased, Cesar Cortez, at one point his sister started suffering from body aches, accompanied by heaviness and fatigue.
Mr. Cortez told the Los Angeles Times: “This all happened in less than a week. I got a call that she was in very grave condition… I left what I was doing and went to the hospital and when I got there, she had already passed away.”
The late woman, who has been living in the country since she moved from El Salvador, went to do her job on Thursday, March 23, but was unable to finish with her shift due to her worsened condition as she started experiencing chills.
As a result, Jessica was then brought to a hospital on the following day, but unfortunately, she passed away on Saturday.
The grieving sibling of the coronavirus victim shared that the family was shocked by how everything happened so fast and in just a couple of days.
Cortez explained that at one point, he got a call from the hospital and was told that his sister was in very critical condition, so he went immediately to visit her, but she was already dead.
The brother of the deceased stated that the hardest part for him and the rest of the family was the thought that Jessica died alone, with nobody by her side. He added: “That’s the hardest part. That she died alone.”
However, for the time being, it remains unknown if the woman had any health problems before catching the virus. Her story has touched many people online and in the community.
One comment read: “Very frightening and frustrating at the same time.” A second person added: “It is so sad; Let’s keep praying ??.” A third commenter chimed in: “Praying for her family and friends ?.”
Jessica leaves behind a 9-year-old daughter. She is the fourth Salvadoran immigrant to die of coronavirus in the US.
There are 18,309 coronavirus cases in California and 492 confirmed deaths in the state.
