Coronavirus Kills 4 Family Members After a Dinner in New Jersey

Tragedy has struck a family in New Jersey amidst the coronavirus crisis. According to CNN, a New Jersey woman and three of her adult children have died from the coronavirus. Two other members of the family who have also been diagnosed with the illness are reportedly in critical condition, a family member shared. Another member of the family reportedly has the coronavirus and is in stable condition, while 19 other members of the family have been tested for the virus.

CNN reported that Grace Fusco, 73, died after she was diagnosed with the illness. Three of her adult children, a son, Carmine, and a daughter, Rita, who was in her mid-50s have also passed away. Another one of Grace's sons, Vincent Fusco Jr., who was in his early 50s, died on Thursday after a battle with the coronavirus. Understandably, this is an unimaginable tragedy for the Fusco family, as Roseann Paradiso Fodera, a cousin of Grace, told CNN.

"The family's biggest concern is that we have four members of one family who have passed, two on life support and one stable," Paradiso Fodera said. The 19 family members who are awaiting their test results "are anxious that their relatives have passed and they don't know if they are infected or not."

The publication reported that the 19 family members, which includes "children, parents, and grandchildren in the family," were tested on Saturday, March 14 and had not received their test results as of Thursday, March 19.

"Why don't the family members who are not hospitalized have the test results? This is a public health crisis," Paradiso Fodera said. "Why should athletes and celebrities without symptoms be given priority over a family that has been decimated by this virus?"

The Fusco family reportedly gathered during a family dinner earlier in March, which is when the infections appeared to have originated from, according to The New York Times, which originally reported the story.

Paradiso Fodera told the NYT that the family dinner was a routine gathering for them.

"A party to most people was a regular dinner to them," they told the publication.

NYT went on to report that the Fusco family and medical professionals were not aware that Rita Fusco-Jackson, who passed away after contracting the coronavirus, had the illness until after she died.

"They didn't treat her as a confirmed case because everything is so delayed," Paradiso Fodera said. "It's a big bureaucracy. The testing result time is important."