Four members of the extended family have died within days of one other, and three others are hospitalized.

Their plight, first reported by NJ.com, began with the death of Rita Fusco-Jackson, 55, on Friday. She was the second person in New Jersey confirmed to have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.

Fusco-Jackson's death was the beginning of a nightmare, as her brother, Carmine Fusco, of Bath, Pennsylvania, also tested positive for the virus and died Wednesday. Hours later, their mother, Grace Fusco, died at the age of 73.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-shatters-new-jersey-family-kills-3-4-more-hospitals-n1163696

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Coronavirus shatters New Jersey family, kills 4 with 3 more hospitalized

"I went to sleep having 10 aunts and uncles! Friday I woke up and found out I only had 9. Just a few minutes ago I found out I only have 8," a relative said.

 

Members of the Fusco family.Gabba Gunga via Facebook

 

 

March 19, 2020, 10:16 AM EDT / Updated March 19, 2020, 5:03 PM EDT

By Minyvonne Burke, Caroline Radnofsky and Kurt Chirbas

The heavy toll of the coronavirus pandemic is hitting one large New Jersey family especially hard.

Four members of the extended family have died within days of one other, and three others are hospitalized.

 

Their plight, first reported by NJ.com, began with the death of Rita Fusco-Jackson, 55, on Friday. She was the second person in New Jersey confirmed to have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.

Fusco-Jackson's death was the beginning of a nightmare, as her brother, Carmine Fusco, of Bath, Pennsylvania, also tested positive for the virus and died Wednesday. Hours later, their mother, Grace Fusco, died at the age of 73.

Vincent Fusco died Thursday at CentraState Medical Center, relative Roseann Paradiso Fodera told NJ Advance Media. His mother died the day prior at the same facility.

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Three other of Grace Fusco's children remain in the hospital. About 20 other relatives are being quarantined in their homes, The New York Times reported.

“If they’re not on a respirator, they’re quarantined,”Fodera told the Times. “It is so pitiful. They can’t even mourn the way you would.”

 

 

 

 

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One of Fusco-Jackson's nieces, Gabby Cartagena, who goes by Gabba Gunga on Facebook, of Howell, New Jersey, registered her shock and grief in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

"My mom is one of 11, last Thursday I went to sleep having 10 aunts and uncles! Friday I woke up and found out I only had 9. Just a few minutes ago I found out I only have 8," she wrote. "Please hold your love ones close and cherish every second and minute you have together."