L.A. Times: Filipina American is first to die from coronavirus in Southern California

FAMILY PHOTO

Loretta, left, with her husband Roddy, was the first person to die from coronavirus in Southern California.

The first coronavirus victim to die in Southern California was a Filipina American on her way home to Florida after visiting the Philippines and Thailand.

The trip to the Philippines and Thailand for Loretta and Roddy (their last names are being withheld for privacy reasons) was a homecoming for the recently retired couple, both of whom were born in the Philippines, reports the Los Angeles Times.

On the way back to their Florida home, on March 8 they decided to make a stop in Walnut, Calif. where Roddy's sister lived, in order to recover from jet lag and besides, Loretta, 68, a breast cancer survivor and diabetic, was exhausted from their trip.

The next day, their daughter in Florida received a text from their father. “My dad texted me and my brother and said that he couldn’t wake up mom,” their daughter Rowena said.

Their children said their father tried to wake up their mother but she wouldn't respond and her pulse was low.  They said he tried CPR -- both mouth-to-mouth and chest compression -- but still no response.

An ambulance was called and Loretta was taken to the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center where she suffered four cardiac attacks. Medications were administered to keep Loretta's heart beating. She died the next morning on March 10.

But the family says, the situation got even worse when 72-year old Roddy was refused a test to see if he had contracted COVID-19. Instead, the hospital staff told him to return to his sister's home and self-quarantine for 14 days.

A hospital spokesman told the Los Angeles Times the use of the coronavirus test was limited to only those who had symptoms because it is in such short supply.

The family told the L.A. Times, that Roddy, who is a non-insulin-dependent diabetic and has a cardiovascular condition, is running a low-grade fever, but his temperature is still not high enough for it to be considered a symptom.

“Just the other night, I talked to him. ... It’s probably the first time he opened up to me about how he was feeling,” Rem told the Times. “And to hear him say he was confused, he feels so alone and he just wants to come home, it hit really hard.”

“You’re talking about a man that just lost his wife. ... We’ve never experienced anything like this. This is a pandemic that can do this to anybody.”

California's Gov. Gavin Newsom in an unprecedented action Thursday, has declared the entire state of 40 million people to stay at home to self-quarantine themselves to avoid further contact with people who might be carriers of the coronavirus even though they themselves show not symptoms.

Roddy's daughter Rowena's voice cracked as she told the L.A. Times: “He loved her so much and I can’t even imagine those days where he has to mourn by himself without any of us in quarantine,”