US Coronavirus Update: New York Man Loses Family To COVID-19

KEY POINTS

A New York man lost his brother and mother both at the same time only 24 hours apart
This happened as central Queens is hit hardest by COVID-19
Deats toll in New York state is now at 10,884

Lloyd Torres, a man from New York, felt the brunt of the pandemic in the saddest way possible. In just 24 hours, he lost both his brother and mother as they succumbed to the deadly disease.

His brother, Louis, and his mother, Lolita, became ill in a matter of only a few days. Louis was a food services director at a nursing home in Woodside, a neighborhood in Queens. He came home one day with a fever, according to NBC News. When his fever spiked on April 1, Louis decided to call 911 and was brought to the New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital.

On the other hand, their mother showed the same symptoms as Louis. Lolita was brought to another hospital hours Louis was taken to a different hospital in the center of the city. Lloyd then tried to look for his mother, whom they found through the help of his friends in the medical field. Lloyd and his wife, Chantal, worked in hospitals as well: Lloyd was an information technology specialist at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, while Chantal was in administration at the White Plains Hospital.

Lolita and Louis were both diagnosed for COVID-19 with pneumonia as an underlying condition. Lolita died on the morning of April 7. Within 24 hours, a doctor contacted Lloyd to inform him that Louis' heart "had finally given up."

This is just one of the heartbreaking stories in Queens as it slowly turns into another “ground-zero” for the virus. NY Times reported that it is largely because of the nature of the neighborhood; it is densely packed with people, mostly immigrants, who are living and working there.

Deats toll in New York has continued to climb; state figures are currently at 10,884. But it isn't all bad news. On Thursday, hospitalizations reportedly nearly flattened, the first time that it’s happened ever since the lockdown was implemented. Officials were quick to remind people that it was still too early to celebrate.

Meanwhile, for Lloyd, the only thing he can do now is to remind other families not to take anything for granted reminding everyone to stay at home and protect themselves and their communities during this challenging time.