‘It can really hurt them’: NMSU student who has virus urges those in their 20s to take it seriously

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — As of Thursday, 3,156 New Mexicans in their 20s have tested positive for Covid-19. Among them, 20-year-old New Mexico State University student Katie Calentine - who is urging people in her age demographic to take the virus seriously.

Calentine said she thought she had a sinus infection and found out she was exposed to someone who tested positive two days after she lost her sense of taste.

“It was like all the puzzle pieces fell together and I thought OK this is a little more serious than I thought,” Calentine said.

She told ABC-7 she was told she would get results in 48 hours if she had tested positive, but waited six days.

She said she was told that if a patient tests negative the Department of Health would post their results online, but found that “misleading” especially for those who aren’t showing symptoms

“If they don’t hear something in 48 hours, they think ‘Oh well, I'm negative so I can go and do what I want.”

Calentine said many people in her age group aren’t “honest” to others if they’ve been exposed, adding that it’s better to social distance than having a difficult conversation of being exposed to the deadly virus down the road.

“I really do want people to know one while it may not hit you as hard as we hear about it hitting other people, it’s still serious, it’s still important and you can give it to someone and can really hurt them,” she said.