Following months of taking precautions, couple married for 6 decades died of COVID-19 after an indoor visit

• A couple married for nearly six decades died of COVID-19 a little over a week apart after a family visit.
• Mike and Carol Bruno, from Chicago, followed strict precautions for months, only to contract the disease after visiting their son Joseph Bruno and his sister, who works in a salon.
• His sister had taken a COVID-19 test, which came back negative and quarantined for three to four days as a precaution.
• Soon after the 40-minute visit, Bruno's sister began to display COVID-19-like symptoms, and Joseph and Carol Bruno also became symptomatic shortly after.
• Carol Bruno was admitted to the hospital and put on a ventilator around Thanksgiving, with her husband Mike following just two weeks later.
• Carol Bruno died a day before Mike was put on a ventilator. Nine days later and just two days before Christmas, Mike Bruno also died of COVID-19.
• "Had I made that sacrifice and, you know, didn't spend, you know, 30-40 minutes with my mom — they would still be here," Joseph Bruno said.

Following months of taking precautions, a couple who were married for nearly six decades died of COVID-19 after a short family visit indoors.

Mike and Carol Bruno, from Chicago, died 10 days apart in the hospital, Joseph Bruno said, after his mother Carol Bruno and his sister visited his apartment, CNN reported.

"My sister works in a salon and so just before Thanksgiving my sister got a COVID test and was negative, and she quarantined for three or four days after she got the negative test," Joseph Bruno told WLS-TV. "I needed a haircut, and she said, 'Well, why don't I just come by and cut your hair so you don't have to come into the salon.'"

During the visit on November 20, which lasted all of 40 minutes, Carol Bruno was seated near an open window to help with ventilation, and all three of them wore masks and social distanced.

"Had I made that sacrifice and, you know, didn't spend, you know, 30-40 minutes with my mom - they would still be here," Joseph Bruno said.

Just one day after the family visit, Bruno's sister began to display COVID-19-like symptoms, and Joseph Bruno and his mother followed soon after.

"Even when we thought we did everything right, we still got it," Joseph Bruno told CNN.

Carol Bruno was admitted to the hospital on Thanksgiving but was later discharged as her condition started to improve. A few days later, she was readmitted and put on a ventilator.

Mike Bruno, who did not visit his wife in the hospital, also began to show symptoms of COVID-19, and he was hospitalized about two weeks after Thanksgiving, Joseph Bruno told CNN.

Carol died of COVID-19 a day before Mike was put on a ventilator on December 14, according to her obituary. A little over a week later, Mike followed - just two days before Christmas, according to the CNN report.

"I think the thing that gives us peace is knowing that my dad didn't know my mom passed away," Joseph Bruno told WLS-TV. "To know that they went within less than 10 days of one another is such a beautiful thing. And, you know, I would give anything to bring them back but I'm so happy that they are together again."

Mike and Carol Bruno are among tens of thousands of Americans who died of COVID-19 amid surges in cases across the country. As of Tuesday, more than 19.5 million cases were confirmed, and nearly 338,000 people died of COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.