Avi Schiffmann's open-source website featuring COVID-19 case data was getting millions of hits from all over the world. He is now one of the statistics he reports.<\/p>\n
MERCER ISLAND, Wash. A Mercer Island High School student who became globally-known after creating a website to track coronavirus data is now suffering from the virus himself.<\/p>\n
Avi Schiffmann is now hoping his experience will send a message to his peers, who he said may not be taking the warnings seriously.<\/p>\n
Back In March, Schiffmann started getting worldwide attention, even if people didn't know his actual name.<\/p>\n
At that time, he told KING 5, \"I thought it was sort of cool to create a website that was a central hub of information, when explaining why he created his website.<\/p>\n
His open-source website featuring COVID-19 case data was getting millions of hits from all over the world.<\/p>\n
Today, hes now one of the faces behind the numbers on the website he created.<\/p>\n
\"I still feel pretty sick. I mean, I feel a little bit better than the past couple of days, said Schiffmann.<\/p>\n
After experiencing COVID-like symptoms last week, and then testing positive for the virus, he and his mom started quarantining at his familys cabin.<\/p>\n
\"General breathing kind of feels like your lungs are on fire, like a little bit. It's pretty terrible. But, that's just the respiratory symptoms. I mean, I also have a headache and my eyes hurt when I move them, said Schiffmann.<\/p>\n
The now 18-year-old said he hopes his own experience can serve as a warning to his peers.<\/p>\n
I hope that the fact that I've shown that I can get sick shows a lot of other people that they're not invincible either, because I think a lot of my peers have thought that we're kind of invincible, said Schiffmann.<\/p>\n
Schiffmann said hes concerned about the long-term effects of the virus, which the CDCsaid can range from a cough to lung damage.<\/p>\n
Even as hes trying to recover at his cabin, Avi said hes focused on keeping his website updated with the latest information.<\/p>\n
\"It has been such a long time since we first did that interview back in early March and since then, the site has really become so much more of an international site. I track so much more than I did back then, said Schiffmann.<\/p>\n
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See the article here:<\/p>\n
Mercer Island teen behind international COVID-19 data website tests positive for virus - KING5.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Avi Schiffmann's open-source website featuring COVID-19 case data was getting millions of hits from all over the world. He is now one of the statistics he reports. MERCER ISLAND, Wash Continue reading