Florida father battling Covid-19 after son met friends and infected whole family

A Florida father is battling to survive a coronavirus infection after his son ignored warnings to wear a face mask and not meet with friends amid the pandemic.

John Place is currently in intensive care at the Westside Regional Medical Center, in Plantation, where he was recently put on a ventilator for more than two weeks.

The 42-year-old's Covid-19 ordeal started last month after his 21-year-old son unwittingly brought the respiratory virus into their family home after the latter had met with friends and removed his face mask in their company.

Days later, he felt cold symptoms and a friend at the get-together told him she had tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Five of his family members subsequently contracted the virus, but Mr Place was the only one who required hospitalisation after four days of suffering from a fever and nonstop coughing. He has been in hospital ever since.

Michelle Zymet, Mr Place's wife and stepmother to his 21-year-old son, said she had repeatedly pleaded with her stepson, who has not been publicly named, to avoid going out with friends and to always wear a mask.

She told local broadcaster 7 News Miami: "I pleaded with him every time he left the house, ‘Please wear your mask, take sanitizer, make sure you’re constantly washing your hands'."

Ms Zymet added: “He always assured me, ‘Don’t worry, mom. I’m doing everything right, relax, chill.’ You know how these kids are, so I trusted in him."

“You let your guard down just one time, it’s all it takes. You come home, and you infect the entire house.”

Commenting on her husband's condition, Ms Zymet said he was "fighting for his life literally every single minute" in hospital.

She also said she had been called an “awful mother,” and an “evil witch” for placing the blame for her husband's condition on the stepson, but added she thought it was important to share her family’s story amid a surge of infections first detected among young people.

Ms Zymet urged people to take heed of the family's situation and take precautionary measures to prevent Covid-19 from spreading - such as wearing a face mask and washing their hands often.

"You’re not invincible,” she said. “This is not a joke. This is a deadly, devastating disease that is affecting millions of people across the world.

"You need to listen and understand that you got to take the necessary precautions, Just wear the mask. At least wear your mask and try to wash your hands as often as you can.”

Her appeal came as Florida continues to report thousands of new daily coronavirus cases.

The state on Thursday reported the largest one-day increase in deaths from Covid-19 since the pandemic began and its second-largest increase in cases ever.

Officials recorded 13,965 new cases, bringing the total number in the state to more than 315,000.

Florida’s Covid-19 death toll meanwhile rose by 156 to a total of 4,782, surpassing its previous one-day record of 133 new deaths on July 12.

The deepening crisis in Florida has emerged as the United States continues to battle the worst coronavirus outbreak in the world.

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