3 teachers have died of COVID-19 weeks after school reopenings

By A.R. Shaw
Sep 12, 2020
9:11 am

While some schools have chosen to go to virtual learning, a multitude of schools have opened for in-class learning.

The latter decision has led to illness and death.

Since schools have opened in late August and early September, three teachers have died from COVID-19, according to CNN.

On Sept. 4, Demetria Bannister, 28, a third-grade teacher at Windsor Elementary School in Colombia, South Carolina was diagnosed with COVID-19. She died two days later.

“While gone from us too soon, Ms. Bannister’s legacy lives on through the lives of the students she taught in her five years as a dedicated educator,” Baron R. Davis, superintendent for Richland School District Two said in a statement.

On Sept. 6, AshLee DeMarinis, 34, a teacher at John Evans Middle School in Potosi, Missouri died after battling from complications of COVID-19 for three weeks.

And Thomas Slade, 53, of Vancleave High School in Jackson County, Mississippi also died on Sept. 6 after battling COVID-19 issues.

The deaths shed light on how the nation has yet to approach the pandemic with a unified voice. While the commander-in-chief has called for the reopening of schools for in-class learning nationwide, the data reveals that the nation continues to suffer from the novel virus.

At press time, 6.43 million Americans have contracted COVID-19 and 192,0000 have died, according to the New York Times.