Four members of a Louisiana family died within days of each other after contracting coronavirus, local outlets reported Tuesday.
The victims were 86-year-old New Orleans resident Antoinette Franklin and her three sons Herman Franklin Jr., 71, Anthony Franklin Sr., 58, and Timothy Franklin, 61. Family members told WDSU that the Franklins became ill around the same time, but it is unclear when or how they were infected.
According to their obituaries, Antoinette died on March 23, Herman on March 20, Anthony on March 26, and Timothy on March 30.
"My uncle passed, my grandmother passed, my dad passed, then my other uncle passed its literally like 7-8 days apart it's horrific," relative Anthony Franklin said. "I want the world to know if it happened to the Franklin family it could happen to any family."
Jacqueline Franklin added: "Let’s take this serious my children have to bury their father, their precious grandmother and their uncles. Let’s not let this happen to another family."
A spokesperson for the New Orleans Coroner's Office confirmed to CBS News that all four family members tested positive for COVID-19 and their deaths were still under investigation.
Louisiana has become a hotspot for the coronavirus pandemic, tallying 16,284 confirmed cases and 582 deaths as of Tuesday. Gov. John Bel Edwards addressed the surge in cases on Monday, claiming black residents accounted for more than 70 percent of the state's COVID-19 fatalities. African Americans make up 33 percent of Louisiana's population, according to the latest Census data.
"Obviously this is a big disparity," Edwards told reporters. "Disturbingly, this information is going to show you that slightly more than 70% of the deaths in Louisiana are of African Americans. So that deserves more attention and we’re going to have to dig into that and see what we can do to slow that trend down."
