CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was wide awake early Wednesday morning, but not because he wanted to be.
Cuomo announced earlier this week that he had been diagnosed with coronavirus. On Wednesday he shared what having the virus was like.
“I was up all night,” he shared on his show ‘Cuomo Prime Time,” which he was hosting from home. The show was filmed in his basement where he is self-quarantining. Cuomo shared that he had insomnia caused by the virus.
“This virus came at me. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Cuomo shared. He told viewers that he suffered from a fever of 103 degrees “that wouldn’t quit.”
“It was like somebody was beating me like a piñata,” Cuomo added. “And I was shivering so much … I chipped my tooth.”
He also shared that he had fever-induced hallucinations.
“My dad was talking to me,” Cuomo said, referring to his late father, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, who passed away in 2015. “I was seeing people from college, people I haven’t seen in forever. It was freaky what I lived through last night, and it may happen again tonight.”
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Despite the rough night, Cuomo says he refuses to let the virus sideline him. He is using the opportunity to give people an up-close look at the virus. During the show, Cuomo. 48, gave a first-hand account of what the symptoms felt like.
“Anybody who’s ever seen me spar will tell you my first round is never my best, and this has proven no different with coronavirus,” he said. “I’ve never experienced any kind of fever like what I have going on all the time, and the body aches and the tremors and the concern about not being able to do anything about it. I totally get why so many are so scared all over this country.”
“I’ve had a lot of weird experiences in my life with health and everything else,” he said. “I’ve never had anything like what haunted me last night with this virus.”
He added “my biggest fear was passing this on to Cristina and the kids. They’re negative, and that is the best thing I ever could’ve heard.”
His older brother, Anthony Cuomo, the governor of New York praised his brother for continuing his show,
“Show the country what it means to have coronavirus, and that information, that experience, can be helpful to people. That’s why he did the show last night,” the governor said. “Kudos to him. My pop would be proud. I love you, little brother.”
As Cuomo wrapped up the show, he gave a heartfelt message.
“Care enough not just to stay home, but to stay on our leaders to make sure that they’re doing everything they can to limit this,” he said. “I’m telling you, this is the part of our lives we will live through and remember the most. How do you want to be remembered during this time?”
