Name: He posted his regrets over attending a party in California. The next day, he died of coronavirus
Brand: cnn.com
SKU: cnn-com-592
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

He posted his regrets over attending a party in California. The next day, he died of coronavirus

preview

(CNN)A Southern California man who after attending a party expressed his fear and regret a day before he died.Thomas Macias, 51, went to a barbecue last month near his community in Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles from Los Angeles. Shortly after the party, he started feeling sick. On June 20, he posted a poignant message on Facebook to warn his loved ones about the risks of the virus, his family said. "I went out a couple of weeks ago ... because of my stupidity I put my mom and sisters and my family's health in jeopardy," he wrote. "This has been a very painful experience. This is no joke. If you have to go out, wear a mask, and practice social distancing. ... Hopefully with God's help, I'll be able to survive this."He never made it. He that post. Read MoreMacias worked as a truck driver and suffered from diabetes, making him especially vulnerable to the virus. Doctors have said people with underlying conditions such as diabetes, chronic lung disease and asthmaBefore the barbecue, he had barely gone out, his brother-in-law Gustavo Lopez told CNN. But he was incredibly social and was feeling isolated, and decided to visit his friends when the state lifted some restrictions, he added.More of CNN's coronavirus coverage"Everywhere he went he made friends instantly," Lopez said. "He was missing his friends and missing his family. So as soon as they lifted some of the restrictions he felt free and he unfortunately went to this get-together to be with his friends and then this was the result."A friend who was at the party reached out to Macias to say he had coronavirus, and he was aware of the diagnosis when he attended the gathering but didn't think he could infect anyone because he had no symptoms, Lopez said. "Our understanding is that a gentleman had called him and said 'hey I was at the party, I knew I was positive. I didn't tell anybody,'" Lopez said. "I think the gentleman was regretting not telling everybody, and he was calling people who were at the party to recommend they get tested."Macias was upset but blamed himself for the error in judgment, even using his Facebook post to warn friends about the dangers of the virus. About a dozen people who attended the party tested positive, Lopez said. "He was mostly concerned that he could have potentially infected one of us," his niece, Danielle Lopez, told CNN on Friday. "Family meant everything for him, he put family above everything else."Macias got tested on June 15, got his positive result June 18 and died June 21. The Riverside County Office of Vital Records confirmed thatRiverside County has over 18,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and about 460 deaths. It has the second-highest number of cases in the state after Los Angeles County.CNN's Nicole Chavez contributed to this report.

(CNN)A Southern California man who after attending a party expressed his fear and regret a day before he died.Thomas Macias, 51, went to a barbecue last month near his community in Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles from Los Angeles. Shortly after the party, he started feeling sick. On June 20, he posted a poignant message on Facebook to warn his loved ones about the risks of the virus, his family said. "I went out a couple of weeks ago ... because of my stupidity I put my mom and sisters and my family's health in jeopardy," he wrote. "This has been a very painful experience. This is no joke. If...

public

Faith Karimi

Alexandra Meeks

It’s our job to #GoThere & tell the most difficult stories. For breaking news, follow  @CNNBRK  and download our app http://cnn.com/apps

cnn.com

Credible

Speculation

Anecdotal Evidence

Generalization

Stacking the Deck

Appeal to Authority

Straw Man

Slippery Slope

Emotional Appeal

Red Herring

False Dilemma

Illogical

Moral Equivalency

Ad Hominem

Correlation w/o Causation

Semantics

Begging the Question

Faulty Analogy

Non Sequitur

Bandwagon

Dogmatism

Failing Occam's Razor

Biased

Pure Opinion

Hit Piece

Racial Bias

National Bias

Religious Bias

Financial Incentive

Political Agenda

Gender Bias

Misused Image/Video

Study Misinterpreted

Mistake

Misused Term

Science Misrepresented

Factual Error

Satire

Surface Level

Lack of Reliable Sources

Sensational

Not Credible

Investigative

Balanced

Well Sourced

Great Context

sports

entertainment

U.S.

international

business

technology

science

culture

politics

media

health

He posted his regrets over attending a party in California. The next day, he died of coronavirus

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS