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A Texas man died from coronavirus after his granddaughter spread infection to him from attending a party

 

  • A Texas man died after he was hospitalized for coronavirus after he was infected by his granddaughter after she attended a party.

  • Dr. Joseph Chang, chief medical officer at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas, told WFAA that the "20-something" girl visited her 80-year-old grandparents after going to a party with her friends.

  • The girl wasn't showing symptoms, but all three of the family members were taken into the hospital's intensive care unit, Chang told the outlet.

  • The granddaughter reportedly spent 10 days unconscious before she woke up and found out her grandfather had died one day earlier.

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    coronavirus ventilators
    coronavirus ventilators

    Medical gear is placed outside the room of a Covid patient in the ICU at Oakbend Medical Center in Richmond, Texas, on July 15, 2020.

    MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Images

A Texas man died from coronavirus after his granddaughter unknowingly contracted the virus at a party she attended before visiting him.

Dr. Joseph Chang told local news outlet WFAA that the "20-something-year old" was infected with the virus after attending a party with her friends. She then visited her 80-year-old grandparents before showing any symptoms.

The three family members were admitted to the intensive care unit at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas where she was treated by Chang, the hospital's chief medical officer.

The girl was intubated and unconscious for 10 days, Chang told WFAA. When she regained consciousness, she found out that "her grandfather had passed the day before she woke back up," Chang said.

Related: 6 months of coronavirus in the USA, reviewed in 6 minutes

Coronavirus patients are placed on ventilators when they are in critical condition and play a key role in helping patients breathe. Insider previously reported that the device is a last resort for a patient, and the general fatality rate has been described by experts to only be 40% to 50%, the Associated Press reported in April.

Chang told the outlet that the hospital's death rate from the virus is approximately 1%, which is "far lower than nationally reported rates," but represents difficult situations for patients and their families.

"Who's the 1%? Do you want to be the 1%? I don't know who the 1% is going to be," Chang said. "You know, no one really does."

Public health experts have emphasized the importance of practicing preventative measures like social distancing and staying home throughout the pandemic to not only prevent contracting the virus, but also to avoid passing the infection to vulnerable family members, including older adults.

Texas is one of several states with rapidly rising numbers of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. The Lone Star state reported 375,846 cases and 4,885 fatalities as of July 25, the same day it recorded 8,112 new cases.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the US has recorded more than 3.3 million total cases and 146,000 deaths from the virus so far in the pandemic.

Read the original article on Insider