Texas man who labeled Covid-19 'scamdemic' feels guilty as 14 family members test positive, 1 dies after party
DALLAS, TEXAS: A man who earlier thought coronavirus was a ‘hoax’ is now urging others to take the pandemic seriously as fourteen members of his family contracted the deadly virus which also took the life of one of the elderly members. Tony Green said the family faced the heath crisis after he threw a party to celebrate the birth of a grandchild.
Green and his partner hosted the event on June 13, where more than a dozen family members were invited, included Green’s father-in-law Rafael Ceja, his partner's grandmother, and sisters. During the party, none of the members wore face masks, believing the deadly virus was just a ‘hoax’. However, soon after the event, the family members, including Green and the parents of the newborn baby, started falling ill with Covid-19. Ceja’s mother even died due to the infection.
Now, the 43-year-old Dallas native has shared his worst nightmare with people by writing a column in a Dallas Voice op-ed. He has also urged others to not ignore the seriousness of the virus, which killed more than 140,000 people in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Green wrote: “You cannot imagine the guilt I feel, knowing that I hosted the gathering that led to so much suffering. 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. For those who deny the virus exists or who downplay its severity, let me assure you: The coronavirus is very real and extremely contagious. Before you even know you have it, you’ve passed it along to your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors.”
In the written piece, the gay conservative also admitted that he voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and “believed the mainstream media and the Democrats were using it [Covid-19] to create panic”. “I admit I voted for Donald Trump in 2016. I admit traveling deep into the conspiracy trap over COVID-19. All the defiant behavior of Trump’s more radical and rowdy cult followers, I participated in it. I was a hard-ass that stood up for my ‘God-given rights’,” Green said. “In great haste, I began prognosticating the alphabet soup about this ‘scamdemic’. I believed the virus to be a hoax. I believed the mainstream media and the Democrats were using it to create panic, crash the economy and destroy Trump’s chances at re-election.”
Green said a day after the party he fell ill and by June 15, his partner and his father-in-law also. The Trump supporter is not married but considers his partner's family to be his in-laws. He and Ceja both had to get admitted to the hospital on June 24. Green said he nearly suffered a stroke after coronavirus attacked his central nervous system.
His father-in-law’s mother was also admitted to the hospital in late June. But she couldn’t survive and died from pneumonia caused by Covid-19 on July 1. “The chaplain wanted the family to break the news to my father-in-law, and he learned how his mother lay on her deathbed and then drifted off without any family by her side, even though he was in the room next to hers. On the day of her funeral, which was July 14, five more of our family members tested positive for the virus. That evening, my father-in-law was put on a ventilator,” Green said.
Concluding his op-ed, Green added: “America, this is not going to go away without sacrifice. Either way, we are going to pay a price. Governments are faced with making difficult decisions, and they cannot appease and satisfy everyone. But to do nothing is to be foolish. To ignore or question the validity of this virus, its contagiousness or the consequences of selfish attitudes is — at this stage — completely stupid.”