Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Padilla is out of the hospital and recovering after battling the virus that causes COVID-19 for nearly a month.
On March 14, Padilla announced he had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and was at home and feeling well. Days later he was admitted to an intensive care unit and put on a ventilator.
"What my physicians have told me, and I think it's true for any COVID patient, particularly any critically ill patient, is your body suffers tremendous trauma and the only thing that's really going to deal with that is time, and steady and slow progress," Padilla said.
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Padilla, who also chairs the California Coastal Commission, was the first San Diego County elected official to report testing positive for COVID-19.
San Diego public health officials announced Tuesday that about 201 individuals have recovered from the disease.
Padilla said he has a message for the public: "Care for one another, respect one another's health, take it very seriously. We're still not through this. This is something, I think, none of us has ever lived through. This is new, and it's scary and this is a moment when people need to really be respectful of one another and to be there for one another."
Padilla joined Midday Edition on Wednesday to discuss his recovery.
