North Texas couple stuck in Cancun, Mexico with COVID-19

CARROLLTON, Texas - A couple from North Texas is stuck in Mexico after testing positive for COVID-19 during a weekend getaway.

Sandra and Sam Philips went to Cancun for a friend’s wedding late last month.

Two hours before the ceremony, the couple took a COVID-19 test that was needed to let them travel back to the United States.

Both of their results came back positive.

While in isolation at their resort, Sam Philips’s symptoms worsened. He’s now being treated at a hospital.

 "We stayed up all night because he was coughing and coughing and couldn’t catch his breath," Sandra Philips said. "They told Sam to put on the suit and some gloves and they just took him away."

She said it has been difficult trying to communicate with his doctor, who only speaks Spanish.

"For the first three days, I didn’t sleep because I was so stressed. It is what it is. Just trying to make it day by day," she said. "I wouldn’t recommend traveling out of the country right now."

The Centers for Disease Control lists Mexico among the highest risk countries in the world for COVID-19 exposure.

Travelers are urged to avoid the country right now.

Neither Sam nor Sandra had gotten a COVID-19 vaccine.