Rosie Perez opens up about having COVID-19 over a year ago: 'Hit me like a ton of bricks'

While recent studies point to COVID-19 arriving in the U.S. in December of 2019, during “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” on Tuesday, Rosie Perez discussed contracting the virus a month earlier while filming the HBO MAX series “The Flight Attendant.” She was in Bangkok, Thailand at the time and became increasingly more sick while filming.

“Hit me like a ton of bricks,” recalled Perez. “I was feverish, had a horrible cough. It felt like someone was stepping on my chest, I was very lethargic and scared.”

Perez said she was extremely sick but didn’t realize how bad things were until she visited a hospital.

“It was like a movie,” she said. “I mean, they took my vitals in the waiting room and then all of a sudden all these people came with all the P.P.E. and rushed me in.”

Perez received treatment and was sent back to her hotel to recover. She credits her doctor’s insistence on wearing a mask in public with her desire to help New York governor Andrew Cuomo with a campaign to promote mask wearing in NY.

Video transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

ROSIE PEREZ: We were in Bangkok and filming "The Flight Attendant." And actually it was the last of November, and I just-- immediately, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

- While recent studies point to the coronavirus arriving in the US in December of 2019, during "The Daily Show" on Tuesday, Rosie Perez discussed contracting the virus a month earlier while filming the HBO Max series "The Flight Attendant."

ROSIE PEREZ: I was feverish. I had a horrible cough. It felt like someone was stepping on my chest. And I was very lethargic, and I was very scared.

- Perez said she was extremely sick in this photo with co-star Kelly Cuoco, but didn't realize how bad things were until she visited a hospital.

ROSIE PEREZ: It was like a movie. They took my vitals in the waiting room, and then all of a sudden all these people came with all the PPE and rushed me out.

TREVOR NOAH: Wow.

- As a major tourist area, Thailand was one of the first countries to experience an outbreak of the virus, and as a result, one of the first to recommend PPE. In fact, the reason Perez was so adamant about helping New York governor Andrew Cuomo promote masks was because of how much her doctor stressed the importance of them when she was discharged.

ROSIE PEREZ: "You're not only protecting yourself, but you're protecting others. That's why I have my mask on with you, because I don't want you to make me sick. And what you have is very, very serious."

And I said, "Well what is it? What's the name?"

She goes, "Well, we don't know yet."

[MUSIC PLAYING]