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A plea from those at risk to COVID-19: Please stay home

Those with compromised immune systems or chronic illness can be impacted more by the virus if they are infected.

He’s 24 years old, uses a ventilator to breathe, and checks every box for someone vulnerable to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. 

Ethan Beaudoin hasn’t left his house in weeks out of fear that the next person he meets could pass along a virus that impacts him in a way he doesn’t even want to think about.

Facetime is the best way to connect with the world, a world that’s a pretty scary place for him right now.

"My immune system is compromised and therefore I am susceptible to picking up illnesses from other people," Beaudoin said. " If I got the coronavirus, worst case scenario is I die like everyone else since we don’t have a cure for it yet."

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He uses a ventilator to help him breathe, the same type of equipment in short supply right now across the nation.

We first introduced you to Beaudoin back in November on Storytellers. He's a charismatic DJ who loves entertaining the crowds as much as he loves the music.

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Since the coronavirus began spreading, the crowds could be deadly.

"I’ve gone out for walks in my yard and stuff but that’s basically it," Beaudoin said. "I don’t want to take any risks because of what the potential could be if I go out." 

Dr. Michelle Barron is the medical director of Infection Prevention at UCHealth. She’s on the front lines of fighting what she now calls a war against the virus. The top priority is keeping people like Beaudoin safe. 

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"That is the smart thing to do," Barron said. "It’s really a function of if you don’t encounter someone with it, you’re not going to get it, or at least that’s the goal.

"Most respiratory illnesses put them at a higher risk of developing pneumonia. So, there is certainly a group along with the people who are older that we want to be more protective of."

Beaudoin's plea is simple: stay home. For your grandparents. For your friends. For people like him. 

"We’re a community and a family," Beaudoin said. "We have to take care of each other. Help people out. Because if one of us falls, the whole community can fall and then we’re in a crisis worse than we’re in right now."

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