Family's Christmas Party Leads To 18 Members Infected With Covid-19

Eighteen members of the same family caught Covid-19 - with two ending up in hospital - after a Christmas party went ahead, despite one of the attendees showing symptoms of the virus.

On Boxing Day, Darlene Reynolds woke up with a scratchy cough, but decided to carry on with preparations for a family party, which was due to take place the day after.

The family, from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, had family visiting from as far afield as Canada, but the party turned out to be a super-spreader event.

WPVI

Reynolds told WPVI: "I had no fever because I kept checking it - no fever, no fever, no fever. I said, 'I'll keep a distance since I have a tiny little cough.'"

After the party took place, people started to get sick with what turned out to be Covid-19.

Reynolds continued: "So we were sick, but we didn't know we had Covid. We could've had the flu, but it was scary.

"We got tested and we tested positive. And then my husband tested positive the next day. And then [my daughter] was getting sick and she tested positive and my son tested positive."

In total, 18 members of the family caught the deadly disease, with those infected ranging from one to 62.

Reynolds' son Luke and husband Stephen both ended up in hospital, with Stephen being kept in and treated for the last nine days.

Reynold's daughter, Joy Purdie, said: "He's headed in the right direction; he'll need oxygen when he comes home."

While Stephen is being treated for Covid in hospital, and after his truck broke down, his business - called Mini Movers - has no income and the family are struggling for money.

WPVI

Lisa Riggin, who works for J. Riggin Painting, saw the family's story on Facebook and decided to take action, setting up Venmo and PayPal accounts to raise money.

Riggin said: "The truck's been down for a month and they haven't had income and I just don't want to see them lose their home or their business.

"People are donating, not as much as I would like, but people are responding. We had a guy last night who donated $500. He doesn't even know me or her."

As it stands, Riggin has raised $4,000 to help the Reynolds family while they recover from the illness.

Topics: US News, Covid-19

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. She spent a few years working on festivals and events before joining LADbible. In her spare time, Amelia likes music and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@ameliasward