This Angeleno got coronavirus on a ski trip in Italy, and now he’s nearly recovered

Three members of an LA family came down with COVID-19 after a ski trip to Italy earlier this month. They tested positive for the disease at LAX on their return trip. Two of them were quarantined at home, and one was hospitalized.

Brian Angel was on that ski trip and diagnosed with the disease. “I'd say I'm probably 95% back to myself,” he tells KCRW.

Angel says he realized he was getting sick at the end of February during his trip, but had no idea that it was coronavirus. At that point, the group wasn’t aware that cases were spiking outside of China. Angel says that he spent that day resting, but had some brief interactions with his 12 other family members on the trip.

“All 13 of us started feeling the effects, which we thought was just regular flu or just a little bit of a cold. On the ski trips, there's always someone who usually gets sick or doesn't ski one day because they're not feeling well,” Angel says. “We found out all 13 of us who were on the ski trip actually tested positive for the virus.”

Angel says that the illness was the worst in the beginning. He experienced body aches and chills for a few days before it subsided. The strong symptoms returned when he arrived back in the US and entered a quarantine with his father, who was also on the trip.

“I had a strong headache for four days straight, almost just pounding and the fatigue. Me and my dad would probably sleep a good 15 to 17 hours a day. We had no appetite,” he says. “We'd wake up in the morning, watch a little bit of the news. And the minute I put my head on the pillow or the couch, I'd be out again for four hours.”

He has advice for people who think they may have COVID-19: get a pulse oximeter.

“It measures your oxygen. As long as it's 90 and above, your oxygen intake is OK,” Angel says. “The minute it falls below 90, you need to go to the hospital.”