ABC News correspondent and Baton Rouge native Kaylee Hartung announced that she's been diagnosed with novel coronavirus. 

Hartung shared the news of her diagnosis Wednesday, via an interview with Good Morning America. 

.@ABC News correspondent @KayleeHartung reports on her #coronavirus diagnosis: "I knew something was wrong as soon as I woke up...social distancing needs to be taken seriously." https://t.co/xJ1gXbFgEg pic.twitter.com/plOOTD4wS2

— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 18, 2020

She spoke with GMA anchor Robyn Roberts, who is also a former resident of Louisiana, explaining that she'd been on assignment in the Seattle area, covering the spread of COVID-19 in that region.

"I knew something was wrong as soon as I woke up," she said. 

A few days after returning from her stint in Seattle, she noticed that she had a lingering headache and extreme exhaustion, symptoms not typically associated with novel coronavirus. 

She's feeling a lot better and has asked viewers to follow the government's direction by avoiding large crowds and practicing social distancing. 

“If I’m being asked to stay inside for 14 days," Hartung said, "think if we all did that. If everyone who could really took this lockdown seriously, we could get past this so much faster, so that’s my plea to everyone. Social distancing needs to be taken seriously. By the time you have symptoms, it’s too late. You’ve already been capable of spreading this virus.”