The night she was admitted to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center with symptoms of coronavirus, Rose Burge’s heart rate was so low, doctors ordered an EKG.

Rose Burge first suspected she might have coronavirus two weeks ago when she developed a fever and body aches. She tested positive for COVID-19 last week, and remains in isolation at Hershey Medical Center.

After unplugging the electrodes, the nurse sat by her bedside and asked her if she believed in God.

Burge replied that she did.

“She said, ‘Can I pray for you?” Burge recalls.

The recollection of that brief encounter a week ago, on Monday afternoon overwhelmed Burge with emotion. The 36-year-old Harrisburg resident remains in the hospital with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

“It kind of eased me because you are in here by yourself,” said Burge, who on Monday remained in isolation with pneumonia in both lungs.

She said she is weak, fatigued and has recurring headaches.

She agreed to speak to PennLive, she said, in order to let other young people know that the pandemic, which has infected thousands in Pennsylvania and hundreds of thousands worldwide, affects everyone – not just the elderly.

“They are telling us it’s worse for older people but it seems like a lot of younger people are catching it,” Burge said. “I‘ve seen some people here that don’t look too much older than me.”

She described her condition as “maintaining.” She said she has no appetite and because she cannot be given fluids intravenously due to the pneumonia; she has to force down fluids.

Burge is one of the 4,087 coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania. On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 693 new cases.

At least 48 people have died from the viral infection, including 10 new fatalities reported Monday, according to the health department.

Health officials have urged younger adults to take the coronavirus seriously. Across Pennsylvania, 41 percent of those who have contracted the virus are between the ages of 25 and 49, according to the health department.

Older adults are more likely to develop complications and require hospitalization. Roughly three out of four patients who have required hospitalization are 50 and over. Only 22 percent of those who have required hospital care are between the ages of 25 and 49, according to state data.

Burge first suspected she might have COVID-19 two weeks ago on Sunday.

She had a fever, body aches and was vomiting. She went to Hershey Medical Center, and although she was admitted for a short time, the medical team declined to test her because she was “low risk.”

Still, the medical team proceeded in treating her as if she was COVID-19 positive. Doctors and nurses followed the appropriate protocol and kept in-room visits to the shortest amount of time as possible.

On Tuesday, she was discharged. Burge said she had no had no additional information on her condition at the time.

By Tuesday night, Burge had gone downhill fast. Her breathing was the first thing to fall apart.

“It felt like someone was suffocating me or sitting on my chest,” Burge recalls.

She tried to nurse herself back to health at home, but her condition only worsened. On Saturday afternoon she drove herself back to Hershey Medical Center.

She tested positive; and she had pneumonia in both lungs.

“Some days are good,” Burge said. “Last night was bad…they gave me medicine to put me to sleep. The pain was kind of bad. I haven’t eaten anything. It’s just a very uncomfortable situation.”