Courtesy Ron Barbosa

Health officials across the country have been beating their heads against the wall after more and more Americans are letting their guards down allowing the COVID-19 coronavirus to get a foothold again.

One Texas family has learned that the hard way and now three are hospitalized, more than a dozen caught the virus from what seemed like a harmless family gathering.

What some members of the family believed would be a harmless, surprise birthday party has turned into a bit of a nightmare.

In all 18 members of the Barbosa family in North Texas have tested positive for COVID-19 after being exposed at the part by one member of the family who unknowingly spread the virus with a cough.

The problems began at the May 30 birthday party attended by eight family members. One of them had a cough.

Ron Barbosa, who didn’t attend the party, told WFAA TV that the party was held for his daughter-in-law, who was turning 30.

All seven others at the party got the virus and then spread it to 10 other relatives.

Included in the sick, two grandparents, two young children, a cancer patient and Barbosa’s own parents, high school sweethearts in their 80s.

Both Barbos’s parents and the relative with cancer are hospitalized.

“My dad’s hanging on by a thread,” he told the TV station. “We’re doing everything we can to keep him alive today.”

He said others who think the pandemic is over or not a big deal need to learn from his family’s experience.

“All I can do is look those people in the eye and say, my dad is dying and my mom is struggling.”