Family says goodbye to 38-year-old loved one who died after testing positive for COVID-19

Heartbreak for a local family as they say goodbye to their 38-year-old loved one who died after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

LOS ANGELES - Heartbreaking loss for the family of a 38-year-old man who died from COVID-19. Adding to their grief, the fact that only one person can attend the burial for Jorel Alfonso.

Younger brother Justin Alfonso says he will likely take on that emotional task as he is a photographer and has the equipment to live-stream for the rest of the family to take part in.

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The burial date has not been set as they are hoping for the crisis to lift in the months to come so that the whole family can attend. Jorel is survived by his wife, three children, and his parents.

The family will first honor Jorel with a live-stream memorial on April 14. Jorel
took ill in mid-March with just a fever.

Justin says that fever escalated to mild shortness of breath and a cough. He says when his brother was told to check himself into the hospital he had just one hour to speak with Jorel before he was intubated.

Jorel's death has left the family in tears and reminding the public that the pandemic is real. Justin and his wife Cherrie were just married in 2019.

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Cherrie is a nurse at a local hospital dealing with a wing of COVID-19 patients. She helped the Alfonso family understand the rapid and devastating medical news they were receiving.

The family has set up a Go Fund Me page for Jorel's children at https://www.gofundme.com/f/celebrating-the-life-of-jorel-alfonso.