A 16-year old boy who contracted COVID-19, then passed the virus on to his family, is now sharing a strong message with the community.
Emanuel Carrasco believes he contracted the virus while playing ice hockey after a couple of his friends there tested positive for coronavirus.
On June 23, Arizona Youth Hockey sent out a message to families stating they were sharing their safety protocols with them again. It was, they said, "in light of the few positive cases of COVID-19" that had been identified over the last few days.
Emanuel, who describes himself as a healthy teen said he felt really sick for about one week.
"I had a fever, a cough and basically every symptom associated with it," said Emanuel.
A week later, his father and high-risk mother also started feeling sick.
Lili Carrasco described COVID-19 as one hundred times worse than the flu. The teacher, who is working from home, has been sick for the last three weeks, but is finally starting to feel better. She said the experience has really been a life changing lesson for her son.
"He felt very guilty about passing the virus on to us. To the point that, even today, the first thing he's ask me, ‘How're you feeling today? How's your breathing today? Do you want some water? Want me to make you a cup of tea?’ I think it's really brought it home for him," said Carrasco.
A spokesman with the Arizona Hockey Union sent ABC15 the following statement Monday:
"The Arizona Hockey Union will continue to keep our players, staff and families as safe as possible during these uncertain times as well as allowing our kids to retain some sort of normalcy in their everyday lives. Although we are a separate organization from our rink, we work very closely with their staff to maintain health and safety first and foremost. Health issues or concerns will be communicated as broadly as needed. AHU immediately adheres to all updated guidelines disseminated to us by the state and the CDC as well as extended precautions defined by our rink. These efforts include: Temperature checks upon entry, one parent/guardian allowed per player, face masks must be worn at all times (except on ice), sanitizer is available throughout the rink at all times, free masks are available, asking players to arrive "dressed" to limit the time inside the building by arriving no more than 15 minutes prior to the session and to vacate no later than 15 minutes after, all locker rooms closed, extended time breaks in between skate sessions to allow rink personnel to clean all public surfaces, any/all individuals inside the building to maintain a proper social distance and to please stay home if you feel sick. These instructions are reinforced via our social media channels as well. AHU will continue to follow all state and CDC guidelines to ensure the safety of our players, families and staff."
Emanuel admits he was a little lax about wearing a mask at first, but now his attitude has changed.
"Watching my mom being so sick, it was eating at my brain. I felt really guilty about it. You know, God forbid if she got seriously ill from it. It would have been my fault," said Emanuel.
His mother Lili added, "the kids are like, ‘This isn't going to hurt me.’ Well, what are you bringing home to somebody else? And it could hurt you. We don't know what the long-term effects of this are on your lungs. So just put the damn mask on. It is not that hard. Put the damn mask on."