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(CNN) In the week before and after her birthday on March 25, the phone of 42-year-old Shana Jones rang nonstop with devastating news.

First, she was notified that her aunt and uncle had passed away. Not long after, four of her cousins died. And then, a close family friend and a church member who was like a second mother to her also passed away.

In total, eight of her friends and relatives have died, all due to complications from the coronavirus.

"I cried and I felt weak," Jones told CNN. "It just became so overwhelming that I became numb."

But instead of falling into depression, Jones decided to focus her energy on helping others -- because that's what those who she lost to the virus would have wanted her to do, she said.

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