Coronavirus: Six family members have been hospitalised after losing a relative

‘This has been devastating for all of us,’ Elizabeth Fusco said

Six members of a family from New Jersey have been hospitalised with coronavirus after their 55-year-old relative died as a result of contracting it.

According to reports, five family members of Rita Fusco-Jackson, who died last Friday and later tested positive for Covid-19, remain in critical condition after contracting the disease.

One of the six family members is said to be stable.

“This has been devastating for all of us,” Fusco-Jackson’s sister, Elizabeth Fusco told NJ.com.

“Our hearts are broken over losing our sister, Rita. We just need help in saving our family members with life-saving medication.”

Five of the family are said to have remained in Freehold to be treated while Fusco-Jackson’s brother remains in critical condition at a Pennsylvania hospital, according to Ms Fusco.

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One of the relatives characterised the situation as “surreal.”

“To imagine a week ago to get a phone call like this — if someone told me this story, I wouldn’t believe it,“ she said. “It’s inconceivable to me,” Roseann Paradiso Fodera, a family member, said.

Additional members of the family who may have been in contact with the hospitalised victims are said to be still waiting on tests for Covid-19.

Fusco-Jackson was one of 11 siblings and according to her sister and was also a parishioner and a teacher.

Margaret Jahn, a Freehold health officer has admitted that there is a “cluster” of cases at the hospital but has denied community spread of the virus at this time, according to the report.

“We’ve conducted several interviews with regard to people who were exposed to close contacts, and we’ve followed up with those — so we are not seeing a community spread per se,” Ms Jahn said.

Testing, she said, has been the biggest issue, something that has been a problem statewide and nationwide.

The American government has received widespread criticism for its slow response to the virus and sparse provision of testing across the country.

“This is devastating for a family, and with a lack of information, it has been frustrating,” Ms Jahn told the website.

Across New Jersey, reports show that 178 cases of the virus have been confirmed within the state as of Monday.

Officials have agreed to close all movie theatres, casinos and gyms as of 8pm on Monday alongside New York and Connecticut in a collective regional attempt to prevent the spread of the virus.

Covid-19 has now been detected in all 50 US states, with the death toll passing 100.

Donald Trump’​s administration has said it will increase the availability of testing and urged all Americans to take steps to avoid infection.