Seven Members Of One New Jersey Family Diagnosed With Coronavirus, Three Have Died

Three members of a New Jersey family have died, and four others are sick shortly after catching #coronavirus. Three of the four are in critical condition.

Grace Fusco, 73, passed away on Wednesday without knowing her oldest son and daughter, who also contracted the virus, had died right before she did. According to CNN, four other children also have the virus and have been hospitalized. Three are in critical condition.

Reports show the infection within the family came from a family dinner that was attended by a person who had contact with the first person to die from coronavirus in New Jersey. USA Today reports show a person Fusco’s oldest daughter Rita Fusco-Jackson, 55, of Freehold, New Jersey, died Friday. Her son, Carmine Fusco, who lives in Bath, Pennsylvania, died a little before his mother on Wednesday. The rest of the family has since quarantined themselves, The Times reports.

Nearly 20 other relatives are quarantined at their homes, awaiting test results and praying in isolation. “Nearly 20 other relatives are quarantined at their homes, praying in isolated solitude, unable to mourn their deep collective loss together,” The Times reported.

The death toll for coronavirus in the U.S. has risen to 150, and least 427 people have been infected across the country. “We’re talking about potentially 12 or 18 months of this,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said mentioning that more businesses will be shut down to avoid more people getting infected.

The government is urging communities to quarantine themselves, stay at least 6 feet away from others, and to avoid social gatherings.