LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — A California nurse and her mother are in a hospital intensive care unit on ventilators with the coronavirus, according to a fundraising page for the family.
Since being hospitalized, Arlene Aquino has lost her father to the respiratory illness and her daughter has also tested positive for the virus.
Aquino, 44, a single mother of two, has been a nurse for more than 20 years. She most recently started working at Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City, her 22-year-old daughter, Ivy, said.
“She has faithfully showed up to work during this pandemic, putting the needs of her patients before her own,” according to the GoFundMe account.
As the only child, Aquino’s parents also lived with her. Both she and her 70-year-old mother were diagnosed with COVID-19 and have been hospitalized since May 2. Her 77-year-old father died on May 15.
Frontline and health care workers have been hit hard by COVID-19 in Los Angeles County.
Earlier this week, public health officials said nearly 4,300 of Los Angeles County’s health care workers and first responders have tested positive for the coronavirus and 26 have died of COVID-19.
That’s more than half of all cases and deaths among health care workers in California.
Aquino is described as the primary breadwinner for the family, and her children are in middle school and college, respectively.
“Right now, the last thing her family should be worried about is how to pay for daily household expenses and that is why we are asking for your help,” the fundraising page reads.
