Socialite Nga Nguyen Diagnosed with Coronavirus After Attending Gucci Fashion Show in Milan

"I was really confused at first," Nguyen said of the diagnosis. "You think, how and when did it happen?"

Published on March 11, 2020 05:18 PM

Vietnamese socialite Nga Nguyen is speaking out after being diagnosed with coronavirus just days after attending fashion shows in Milan and Paris.

Nguyen, who has been in quarantine since getting the news, has made headlines, with outlets accusing her of spreading the virus.

In the days leading up to her diagnosis, Nguyen, a long-time lover of fashion and the daughter of a steel magnate, flew out to Italy on Feb. 18 with her sister to attend the Gucci fall 2020 fashion show.

“My mind was blown, I was in awe,” Nguyen told the New York Times of the invitation. Nguyen and her sister stayed in Italy for 48 hours and later traveled to Paris to attend Saint Laurent on Feb. 25. Nguyen frequently travels from London, Germany and Hanoi.

On Feb. 20, Italy reported its first coronavirus case in Lombardy. The country is now on lockdown with more than 10,000 cases, according to ABC News, and the second-highest reported death toll behind China.

Nguyen told New York Times she and her sister “felt totally fine the whole time” throughout their travels. “I was going to the gym, going to work.”

However, everything changed on March 2.

While on a work trip, Nguyen explained to New York Times that she noticed a cough.

She went to the doctor and found out the next day that she had tested positive for coronavirus. Her sister also tested positive.

“I was really confused at first,” Nguyen told New York Times. “You think, how and when did it happen?”

As she remains in quarantine, Nguyen explained she has a fluctuating fever and continues to cough.

“People said I flew home, that I already knew when I was at the shows — neither of which is true — that I am spoiled, that because I showed my cleavage in one picture, that’s why the virus was attracted to me, that it’s time for greedy fashion people to stop and think,” Nguyen told New York Times.

Following her diagnosis, Nguyen alerted her contacts at Gucci and Saint Laurent. She also informed her friends, family, makeup artist and photographer. As of Wednesday, none of the people she contacted have shown signs of the virus.

A spokesperson for Gucci issued a statement obtained by PEOPLE saying, “Despite 21 days having passed since our show, once we were informed of Mrs. Nguyen’s coronavirus confirmation, we informed all guests that were seated alongside Mrs. Nguyen at the show. They have expressed their thanks and advised they are doing well.”

A rep for Saint Laurent did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Nguyen is scheduled to undergo another round of testing on Monday and hopes that the lab work will reveal that she no longer has the virus, she told New York Times.

In the meantime, Nguyen has disabled her social media accounts in response to backlash. She also has no plans to attend the 2020 Met Gala in May.

“I completely understand the extreme sentiment, given the world is in hysteria over this epidemic. There’s definitely major scrutiny for us, but I think it’s largely based on assumptions and fantasization of the sequence of events,” Nguyen told New York Times.

As of Wednesday, there now at least 1,015 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States.

Worldwide, there are now 121,545 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 4,373 deaths.

The first cases of a mysterious respiratory illness — what is now known as COVID-2019, a form of coronavirus — began in Wuhan, China in late December. Since then, the virus has spread worldwide, leading the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency, the first since the zika epidemic in 2016.

At first, this coronavirus was contained to China, but Wuhan is a major transportation hub with hundreds of flights leaving and landing from the city of 11 million each day. Soon, as people flew from the area to different countries, the coronavirus reached more countries, including the United States.