A US woman who survived cancer has died of Covid-19 after contracting the illness from an infected friend who hid the diagnosis to play cards at a social gathering.
The woman’s grieving family has reported that Barb Bartolovich, 82, of Ohio, who had previously overcome blood cancer, was vaccinated and took all necessary precautions against Covid.
Barb made sure to only socialise with like-minded people amid the pandemic, WXYZ reports.
As reported by the New York Post, she decided to get together with friends to play cards and asked everyone beforehand if they were vaccinated, with everyone saying they were – but the family claims one of them had lied.
“Somebody decided that testing positive for Covid is something they can hide,” Ms Bartolovich’s granddaughter, Lauren Nash, told WXYZ. “The only way we found out is that the person owned up after Nana got sick.”
Ms Bartolovich was hospitalised, placed on a ventilator and died on December 21, according to the report.
“She was just everything to everyone. As everyone says, if you knew Barb, you were loved. She was taken too soon,” said Ms Nash, who wants to spread the message about the importance of safety measures.
“It is not worth it. It is not worth knowing you hurt someone, potentially hurt someone, or killed someone because you want to go out and have fun.
“I am just horrified at where we are and what is going on, that we are not taking into account people’s lives.”
Ms Bartolovich, who lost her husband, Frank “Moose” Bartolovich in 2014, “cherished her role as a wife, mother and grandmother”, according to her obituary on WKBN.
“A little firecracker, Barbara was always raring to go for family gatherings, vacations and impromptu outings. She was their support system throughout life and she taught them many lessons,” it said.
“Barbara’s motto was, ‘There is nothing so bad in life that can’t be fixed,’” it continued.
“She was considered cool and fun to her grandchildren and they described her as, ‘To know her was to love her and to be loved by her was the most special feeling in the world. She made every one of us feel special in her own Nana way.’”
Ms Bartolovich leaves behind her four children and 10 grandchildren.
Image: Facebook
This article first appeared on OverSixty.