Think you won’t catch coronavirus? So did this Texas family. Eighteen got it, 3 hospitalized.

Published 2:53 pm Thursday, June 25, 2020

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.”