A surprise birthday party in Texas ended in 18 members of the same family contracting COVID-19 - including elderly grandparents and a cancer patient.
Ron Barbosa said the surprise birthday party hosted by his nephew last month led to the mass infection.
The nephew did not know he had coronavirus, thinking his slight cough was the result of working in construction - he came into contact with around 25 people throughout the course of the day.
Barbosa, a volunteer emergency medical technician, did not attend the party.
"We knew this was going to happen," he told local news site KENS.
"I mean this whole time this has been going on we've been terrified."
Among those infected was his sister Kathy, who has breast cancer. Kathy was undergoing chemotherapy at the time she got infected but is now in recovery from the virus.
Barbosa's elderly parents also contracted the deadly virus. Both in their 80s, Carole and Frank Barbosa have been hospitalised for a week - Frank is in intensive care.
"My dad's hanging on by a thread," Barbosa told WFAA.
"They're saying this is one of the last straws for my dad."
Texas has been heavily hit by COVID-19. The state currently has 132,000 confirmed cases and 2296 deaths from the virus.
