18 family members contract coronavirus after Christmas celebration: 'We could've had the flu'

An American family's holiday gathering has turned into a COVID-19 super-spreader event, with 18 members contracting the virus.

Following the event in Pennsylvania on December 27, one woman have warned against large groupings as coronavirus spreads through her family tree.

Darlene Reynolds, 55, woke up on the day before the party, to which family members from the US and Canada were invited, with a tickle in her throat.

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"I had no fever because I kept checking it - no fever, no fever, no fever. I said, 'I'll keep a distance since I have a tiny little cough,'" Reynolds tells ABC.

In the days after the event, coronavirus spread through guests ranging in ages from one to 62.

"We were sick, but we didn't know we had COVID," Reynolds explained.

"We could've had the flu, but it was scary."

Reynolds tested positive, along with her husband, daughter and son. Soon, 18 other family members had contracted the virus.

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The severity of the situation escalated when Reynolds' son and husband Stephen were hospitalised.

Stephen spent nine days in hospital and is expected to need oxygen upon returning home, according to Reynolds' daughter Joy Purdie.

The family's livelihood is currently under threat, with Stephen's business Mini Movers unable to operate after his truck broke down.

Stranded and ill with no income, the family have relied on friends to raise money through social media during the period.

Lisa Riggin, who saw the family's struggle on Facebook, has helped raise over $4,000 ($AUD 5,200) to support them.

In a post, she wrote: "Darlene Reynolds is struggling right now with her son Luke David and her husband Steve being hospitalised with this virus, they need help financially as they are unsure if and when Steve may return to working."

"Steve was suddenly stricken with the terrible disease COVID-19 and has been in the hospital now for over a week. Everyday he is battling to get out of that hospital but his body is weak. He's making slow progression [sic]. He's currently on high flow at Riddle Hospital."

Riggins' post reveals the family fears not being able to pay their bills and mortgage, and detailed the "major recovery" time the small business owners will have "trying to regain [their] health".

To date, there have been 24,781,200 cases of coronavirus in the United States.

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