14 members of the same Texas family test positive for coronavirus after party

One member of the family died after attending the party in Dallas, Texas

Jul 28, 2020

Tony Green Texas thegrio.com — (Tony Green, Credit: GoFundMe)

Despite the fact that America has quickly become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, debate still wages on about if social distancing and other safety measures are a necessity. Unfortunately, one family in Texas has just found out the hard way that they are.

According to NBC News, Tony Green and his partner threw a party in Dallas on June 13 for over a dozen family members, including father-in-law Rafael Ceja, his partner’s grandmother, and sisters. He and his partner are not legally married but have been together for nine years. Green considers his partner’s family as his in-laws.

Green, a conservative, previously said he believed the pandemic to be a “hoax.” As a result, he did not require any of the attendees at the gathering to celebrate the birth of a grandchild to wear a mask or adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Within just days of attending the festivities, some of the gatherers became sick. Green, the parents of the newborn, and 11 other family members all fell ill from the coronavirus. Green was admitted to the hospital and nearly suffered a stroke.

The woman he considers a grandmother later died from the virus.

The guilt that he has experienced following the incident is what led him to speak out publicly, a decision that has now caused a rift in his grieving family.

“You cannot imagine the guilt I feel, knowing that I hosted the gathering that led to so much suffering,” the 43-year-old gay Republican wrote in a Dallas Voice op-ed.

“You cannot imagine my guilt at having been a denier, carelessly shuffling through this pandemic, making fun of those wearing masks and social distancing. You cannot imagine my guilt at knowing that my actions convinced both our families it was safe when it wasn’t.”

He also admitted that he voted for President Donald Trump and was skeptical about COVID-19 until it directly impacted his own family. His hope is that his story will inspire others like him to be more careful.

“I admit I voted for Donald Trump in 2016. I admit traveling deep into the conspiracy trap over COVID-19,” he continued. “All the defiant behavior of Trump’s more radical and rowdy cult followers, I participated in it. I was a hard-a** that stood up for my “God-given rights.”

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