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A Texas family is using their personal experience to warn others not to gather for celebrations before Thanksgiving after 12 of them reportedly contracted coronavirus at a birthday dinner held earlier this month, which eventually spread it to three other people who didn’t go to the party.
Alexa Aragonez, who the Star-Telegram says works for the Arlington City Department of Communications and Legislative Affairs, said she dropped off her 57-year-old mother at their relative’s house but did not have not attended the party itself. Aragonez, who was not one of the 15 diagnosed with COVID-19, said the family believed that since everyone felt healthy and adhered to COVID-19 social guidelines, come together to share a meal would be safe.
Several days later, several family members started to feel sick and were tested for the coronavirus. She told the Star-Telegram that it’s possible that some of the attendees who attributed some sinus symptoms to seasonal allergies likely spread the virus to others.
NEWSOM, FAMILY IN QUARANTINE AFTER POSSIBLE EXPOSURE TO COVID-19
Aragonez’s mother fell ill and had to be hospitalized, but has since been released. The family recorded a PSA shared by the City of Arlington on social media on Friday.
“I went to my nephew and loved seeing my family, but now I’m fighting COVID-19,” Aragonez’s mother Enriqueta said in the video, recorded from her hospital bed .
“Now I am in the hospital and I cannot see my family,” she said.
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The other parents who tested positive, which included everyone at the party, reflected on the diagnoses and noted things they can’t do, like kissing spouses and seeing friends.
“All this pain my family is feeling, this loneliness, this illness, this desire to feel healthy, could have been avoided,” Aragonez said in the video. “Please don’t be like my family and ignore it [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines. By staying apart, we can fight this virus together. The cure begins and ends with you.
She said the family decided to share her story despite the negative reactions it could cause, as they did not feel they were engaging in risky behavior but ended up in an unsafe health situation.
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“It’s scary to think what if my whole family had the severe case and each of those 15 people had to go to the hospital,” she told The Star-Telegram. “First, I would feel guilty for taking resources from people who really need them, and second, I would risk losing my whole family.”
Texas currently has a test positive rate of 10.59% and has recorded more than 1.1 million cases of the coronavirus, resulting in more than 21,000 deaths.
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