Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg said Tuesday she has recovered from what she believes were mild coronavirus symptoms.
In an Instagram post, Thunberg described her experience and encouraged followers to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
Thunberg said she isolated herself for the past two weeks in an apartment away from her mother and sister after returning from a trip to Central Europe.
She said she began experiencing symptoms around the same time as her father, who had traveled with her from Brussels. Thunberg said she was not tested for the virus since tests in Sweden are unavailable for those not in need of emergency medical care.
“I have therefore not been tested for COVID-19, but it’s extremely likely that I’ve had it, given the combined symptoms and circumstances,” she wrote on Instagram.
Health experts have warned that young people experiencing mild symptoms or even no symptoms can still carry and spread the virus.
Thunberg said she “almost didn’t feel ill,” adding that her last cold was “much worse than this.”
“Had it not been for someone else having the virus simultaneously I might not even have suspected anything … And this it what makes it so much more dangerous,” she wrote.
“We who don’t belong to a risk group have an enormous responsibility, our actions can be the difference between life and death for many others,” she added.
There have been more than 398,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide and 17,454 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. In Sweden, there have been 2,286 confirmed cases of the virus and 36 deaths.