34-year-old California man dies from COVID-19, friend says it should be a wake-up call

GLENDORA, Calif. -- A 34-year-old California man is being remembered as a beloved friend after he became one of the five people in Los Angeles County who have lost their life to COVID-19, the disease caused by novel coronavirus.

Jeff Ghazarian died last week at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena after spending five days hooked up to a ventilator. Ghazarian might have been a higher risk patient because he had issues with asthma and bronchitis as a child.

Lisa Dubler studied with Ghazarian at the University of Redlands, where the two were members of the co-ed business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi.

"Jeff was the most beloved person of this fraternity and of the Redlands community more generally," said Dubler. "He just had a lot of love and humor and could approach and talk to anyone. He could talk to a wall and the wall would be happy to hear from him."

New Jersey man, 25, waiting on experimental drug after positive coronavirus test was lost

Ghazarian began experiencing symptoms of coronavirus on March 7 while in Orlando, and when he arrived back in Los Angeles two days later, was taken to an emergency room where a chest x-ray showed he had pneumonia.

The coronavirus test came back positive on March 13. Dubler had been following the updates from Ghazarian's sister on Facebook. Ghazarian was a fighter who survived testicular cancer in 2016, his family said, adding that he fought hard in an attempt to beat coronavirus.

"Sharing Jeff's story is really in the worst way, a reminder of how horrific this disease is and the importance of staying home," said Dubler. "And acknowledging that anyone and everyone can get this and we all have a responsibility a social responsibility to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our community."

Lisa Dubler says Ghazarian's passing should serve as wake-up call for younger people in their 20s and 30s who may think they're invulnerable to COVID-19.

Can the US economy reopen by Easter? One Duke economist weighs in on COVID-19 impacts