Joy-Anna Duggar Reveals She Had A Scary COVID-19 Diagnosis While Pregnant

The Duggar family has received some criticism for flouting COVID safety regulations, particularly during the holidays (via Daily Mail). Of course, it must be difficult for the enormous family to skip their holidays together, but the same is true for many families. As the Daily Mail notes, the Duggar family decided to gather on a number of occasions during the year, although their state of Arkansas' regulations recommended against it. 

For their Fall Family Festival, there were over 40 Duggar family members and other friends and loved ones gathered together, according to footage shared by Jessa Seewald on Instagram and YouTube. This led many to believe they weren't particularly concerned about contracting the virus. 

Up until now, no member of the family had spoken publicly about contracting the virus, during the holidays or at any other time. Recently, however, Joy-Anna Duggar revealed on her Instagram story that both she and her husband, Austin Forsyth, have had coronavirus (via Us Weekly).

"Yes, Austin and I both tested positive for COVID last year," she replied to a fan question. "I was still pregnant with Evelyn. We both had body aches, slight fever, and lost our taste and smell. Thankfully, we recovered quickly."

The couple were lucky. As the Daily Mail reports, the Mayo Clinic warns that being pregnant can increase the risk of more serious symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Fighting the virus while pregnant sounds terrifying, but, thankfully, the Forsyths made it through. Joy-Anna and Austin, who have been married since 2017, welcomed Evelyn Mae on August 21, 2020 (via Us Weekly). 

"To say my heart is full is an understatement," she told Us Weekly via a statement back in August. "We have been dreaming of this day and are so happy to announce that our baby girl arrived August 21 at 2:12 p.m. weighing 8 pounds, 5 ounces and is 19.5 inches long. She has the best personality, is easy going and loves to be held!"