WRAL reporter hospitalized with COVID: Oxygen levels down but lungs look great

Baez said in a Facebook Live his oxygen level is in the 80s, although he said he isn't experiencing shortness of breath. His oxygen level was in the 90s previously, Baez said.

A normal oxygen level is between 95% and 100%, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Baez said an X-ray shows his lungs are in great condition but he still gets a "hacking cough" when he moves around.

He was hoping to go home Monday, but the lower oxygen level will keep him in the hospital for now.

Baez, who was fully vaccinated, was hospitalized on Thursday at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville after he diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia following his positive COVID-19 test the day prior.

"My doctor says the fact that I was vaccinated helped me battle the virus," Baez said Friday. "I’m OK as long as I sit still, but the slightest movement triggers uncontrollable coughing and struggles with breathing."

Baez did a Facebook Live video on Saturday from his room in the COVID-19 unit at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

"I'm one of the lucky ones who does not have to take oxygen or be on a ventilator," he said.

Baez said he and his wife, Doris, both tested positive for the virus days after his 66th birthday party. All 10 friends and family who attended the party were vaccinated, and half of the people there tested positive, he said.

His wife is starting to recover, as well as three other people who tested positive, Baez said. While his wife had lost her sense of smell, Baez noted that he had lost his appetite, saying he hadn't eaten in several days due to nausea.

Baez said when his 102 degree fever was not responding to medication, he knew it was time to go into the emergency room for treatment. ​

He covered the Gulf War for WRAL News in the Middle East in 1991 and was the first to report that Fort Bragg soldiers were being sent to oust Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.