Coronavirus USA Update: COVID-19 Sickens 7 Family Members, Kills 3

A family in New Jersey is faced with unspeakable grief after three of its members -- the matriarch and two children -- succumbed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Grace Fusco, 73, passed away Wednesday after contracting the coronavirus. “Gravely ill” and breathing through a ventilator, the mom of 11 and grandmother of 27 was not aware that two of her children have already died from COVID-19. Rita Fusco-Jackson, 55, died five days before on Friday. Carmine Fusco, the eldest son, died on Wednesday, the New York Times reported.

Roseann Paradiso Fodera, the family’s lawyer and spokeswoman, said some 20 other relatives are currently quarantined at their homes. Fusco’s four other children are being treated at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, three are in critical condition.

The infections may have originated from a family dinner, a routine gathering for the whole family. The first COVID-19 death in New Jersey is believed to have attended the gathering.

This heartbreaking news has led the state’s health commissioner, Judith M. Persichilli to reinforce social distancing and avoid group activities and get-togethers.

“I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to take personal responsibility and to avoid even small gatherings,” Persichilli noted at a press conference.

As of 7:53 a.m. NSW time, there are 9,415 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States, with 150 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering ( CSSE ).

Two members of the United States Congress have also tested positive for COVID-19. Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart from Florida confirmed Wednesday that he has contracted the virus. Shortly after, Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams from Utah announced that he too, is suffering from the virus.

In Australia, there are 568 confirmed cases and six deaths.