A 20-year-old woman working as a nurse’s assistant at a facility in Riverside, the same one where there had been an outbreak of cases earlier this month, died Friday after contracting coronavirus, her family said.
Valeria Viveros was working toward getting her nursing degree and was passionate about caring for others. Her family says she tested positive for the virus and despite having no pre-existing health conditions, died seven days after being rushed to the hospital.
“She was young and she was an achiever and humble and caring and loving,” Gustavo Urrea, Viveros’ uncle, said.
Viveros was a graduate of Norco High School, and was in college working as a nurse’s assistant at Extended Care Hospital in Riverside. Her family said it was her dream to be a nurse.
“What can I say? It’s just shocking, you know. It’s just shocking. We are speechless about it sometimes,” Urrea said.
On April 5, Riverside County Public Health reported an outbreak of 30 coronavirus cases in patients and staff at the facility where Viveros worked.
Her family says she came down with symptoms and was swabbed for the virus three times before it came back positive.
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She called 911 on April 4 when she had trouble breathing and was rushed to the hospital.
Her family was only able to say goodbye through a window, and couldn’t be by her side.
Urrea said it was especially painful not to be able to comfort his family after the loss.
“Attention and affection was not present in her situation. People become hopeless,” he said. Urrea said he would miss “her way of talking to me. ‘Hola tío. How are you tío?’ She had a beautiful voice. And her presence, her kisses, her hugs.”
Viveros was living with her mom, dad and brother. While they try to plan her funeral, they are also isolated at their home in Corona, waiting to see if they show any symptoms.
