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Dr. Carlos Vallejo, a South Florida internist, passed away from complications caused by the novel coronavirus exactly five weeks after his father, Dr. Jorge Vallejo, died from the same infection.
The elder Vallejo, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist whose work distinguished him throughout the region, was 89 years old at the time of his death on June 27. His son died on August 1 at 57. The two doctors were hospitalized for their symptoms at medical facilities in Florida's adjacent Miami-Dade and Broward Counties on June 21, the Miami Herald reported.
Five members of the Vallejos' family have contracted COVID-19, according to the newspaper. Their relatives told the outlet they suspect Carlos initially contracted the virus from COVID-19 patients he treated at work, many of whom were residents of long-term care facilities.
Newsweek contacted the Vallejo family for comments, but did not receive a reply in time for publication.
Long-term care facilities across the U.S. were hit particularly hard by COVID-19 during the earlier months of the pandemic, partially due to higher risks of serious virus infections associated with people older than 65.
In Florida, almost 9,000 nursing home residents tested positive for the coronavirus in long-term facilities across the state before the end of July, resulting in at least 1,800 subsequent deaths.
County-specific data updated last week shows most cases and deaths among Florida's nursing home residents and staff were reported by facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. Those counties have confirmed Florida's highest incidences of COVID-19 throughout the state's outbreak.
Florida saw one of the country's most significant outbreak resurgences this summer, with public health officials confirming close to 500,000 additional statewide virus cases since June 1.
Nearly 551,000 people have tested positive for the respiratory illness in Florida throughout the pandemic, leading to at least 8,765 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health's latest data. About 32,000 hospitalizations related to COVID-19 were reported by medical centers statewide as of Tuesday, August 11.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued diagnostic testing protocols for long-term care facilities and medical centers in June and July respectively, given elevated risks of coronavirus transmission.
The CDC previously recommended that nationwide health care facilities take an aggressive approach to contact tracing if they suspect an employee was exposed to the virus during interactions with patients. It later amended recommendations for medical centers in regions experiencing severe outbreaks.
"As community spread of COVID-19 became apparent in many areas and as transmission from asymptomatic individuals was recognized, this approach became impractical and diverted resources away from other critical infection prevention and control functions," state the most recent guidelines, updated June 18.
"In response, CDC advised facilities to consider forgoing formal contact tracing and work restrictions for HCP [health care providers] with exposures in favor of universally applied symptom screening and source control strategies."
