COVID-19 kills three members of the same Delaware family
HOCKESSIN, Delaware (WPVI) -- The coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on Suzanne Burcat and her family.
Within the last two weeks, the Hockessin, Delaware woman lost her father and two cousins to COVID-19.
None of them lived together or communicated prior to getting sick.
"It doesn't care who you are, who's in your family, it's just there and anybody can contract it if they're not careful," warned Burcat.
RELATED: Should Americans wear masks? Everything you need to know about new CDC guidelines
About two weeks ago, Burcat said her family admitted her father, 88-year-old Barry Greene of Long Island, New York, to the hospital after he started exhibiting symptoms. However, given COVID-19 precautions, he was admitted alone and had to stay alone.
"The biggest thing was just, he was all by himself and nobody was able to be with him, not just in the final hours but that whole final week," said Burcat.
Throughout the duration of his stay, she said her family was kept in the dark because the hospital was overloaded. She added that her sister and mother, who lived with Greene, tested positive for COVID-19.
Heartbroken and angry, Burcat said the virus robbed her family of time with her father, who she described as having a great sense of humor, supportive, and a fan of puns.
"He had been sick, he had underlying conditions but he wasn't ready to die," said Burcat. "He was not ready to leave his family."
She says the virus robbed her family again during his burial because many weren't allowed to attend. Burcat said she held a Zoom video during the burial.
"You just feel empty," said Burcat. "There was nothing you could do... you get this news that you kind of, in the back of your mind know could happen, and you just kind of feel empty."
She and her family want others to learn from their experiences - to take social distancing seriously as the coronavirus continues to ravage any sense of normalcy.
"We just want to make sure people understand it's real, it's deadly, it's not your common cold and a lot of people do recover, but a lot of people don't as well," said Burcat.
