Father, Mother, and Son Die of Coronavirus Over Three Consecutive Weekends

Three members of a family living in Miami have died on three consecutive weekends in a row after they contracted the coronavirus, ABC News reports.

42-year-old Mario Mayorga Jr. was first diagnosed with COVID-19 in March, and other members of his family tested positive just a week later. 72-year-olds Esperanza and Mario Mayorga were among those who were infected, while 33-year-old Marcela Lastre said that her other other cousin, 45-year-old Violeta, also contracted the virus. Mario died on April 10, Esperanza died nine days later, and Mario Jr. died on April 26. Violeta is currently recovering at home, but is isolated from her 8-year-old son.

“Ever since we got the stay-at-home order, every weekend we got bad news,” Lastre said. She added that when Mario Jr.’s condition started to deteriorate, his father “locked himself in his room and kept wondering what if something bad happens to [his song]? … It was about three to 5 days from one person showing symptoms to the next one. We thought they would all show symptoms at the same time.”

Due to how quickly it all happened, Lastre said she’s not sure if Mario Jr. was aware his parents had passed away. “Between the ventilator and the sedatives, I don’t know much he was aware of in the last few weeks,” she explained. The family originally moved from Nicaragua to North America back in the ’80s. “They were grateful to be here and become U.S. citizens,” Lastre said. “This has been a family who has been together for so long and built so much together.”