Family gathers after months apart - and 14 catch COVID-19, Texas reports say

Fourteen members of the same family in Texas have tested positive for coronavirus following a small gathering in June, the family says. One of them has died.

After months spent social distancing due to the pandemic, the Green family got together in Dallas on June 13 after state coronavirus restrictions were lifted, according to a post on GoFundMe.

Not long after the backyard barbecue, Tony Green fell ill; he began feeling “weird” and couldn’t sleep, he told WFAA.

Over the course of several days, he and 13 family members became sick with COVID-19, including Green’s mother, father and partner, he told the outlet.

“I thought that everything was going to be fine,” Tony Green told KDFW. “We’re not even really going out. We’re just spending time together. Hanging out at the house. Grill, you know.”

Green and his father-in-law, Rafael Ceja, were both admitted to the hospital on the same day, the family said. Ceja’s mother was also hospitalized and placed in the room next to Ceja, unbeknownst to them both.

She died in the hospital on July 2, the family said. Only 10 family members were allowed to attend the funeral.

Ceja developed pneumonia and has been on life support since July 12, the family said.

“It’s not real until it becomes personal,” Green told WFAA. .

He said he regrets not wearing a mask at the barbecue, KDFW reported.

“I feel very badly for the way that I reacted and thought of people for being so concerned about this,” Green told the outlet.

Priya Subramanian, an infectious disease specialist, told KDFW people should still avoid gatherings — even small ones.

Green said he’s sharing his family’s story in the hope it will cause those skeptical about the virus to take it more seriously, WFAA reported.

“You don’t want your family in this situation,” he told the outlet. “You don’t want to see a loved one ... hooked up on life support. See their body just laying there.”

Since the onset of the pandemic, Texas has had 375,846 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 4,885 deaths as of Saturday, according data from the Texas Health and Human Services. On July 25, it added 8,112 new cases.

Dallas County has 44,746 confirmed cases of coronavirus — the second-most of any county in Texas following Harris County, data say. Tarrant County has the fourth-highest with 24,562 confirmed cases..

This story was originally published July 26, 2020 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Family gathers after months apart - and 14 catch COVID-19, Texas reports say."