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Teresa Sperry: VA girl, 10, dies of Covid after teacher made her escort sick kids

The teacher defied the rule in place that only adults were to walk sick students to the nurse's office and tasked Teresa Sperry with the job instead
UPDATED OCT 5, 2021
Teresa Sperry, 10, died due to Covid-19 complications (Facebook/Nicole Sperry)
Teresa Sperry, 10, died due to Covid-19 complications (Facebook/Nicole Sperry)

A 10-year-old from Virginia has lost her life to Covid-19 complications. People who knew the child were still reeling from her loss when they were dealt with another shocker related to what caused her to contract the virus in the first place. Teresa Sperry who studied at Suffolk Public Schools, Virginia, was allegedly tasked with escorting sick students at the school to the nurse's office by one of her teachers. This is been viewed as the reason how she was exposed to the virus following which she died tragically. 

Of Covid positive cases at educational institutes, we reported on the Marce Herz Middle School in Reno, Nevada where at least 80 students were exposed to the virus on the very first school day in August this year. A parent sent their child to school despite knowing the child was Covid positive and this act was dubbed "criminal negligence" and "irresponsible" by social media users. A Stanford University analysis conducted at the beginning of 2021 deduced the 17 colleges that were monitored as superspreaders as cases went up by 56% in counties where classes were conducted in person, according to the CDC. 

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Teresa Sperry died five days after first experiencing headache

Teresa Sperry was a fifth-grade student at Hillpoint Elementary School. She died in the first week of September, just five days after first experiencing a headache. Health officials got in touch with her family when she first tested positive for the virus two days after she died, according to The Virginian-Pilot's report. Sperry's symptoms began with a headache and things went south quickly from there. Five days later she stopped breathing and couldn't be revived, her parents Nicole and Jeff said. 

Her father told the outlet that Sperry's "classroom job" was to escort sick kids to the nurse's office. “And she said that if the kids were sick and needed to go home, she had to go get their book bag and take it back," her mother added. Suffolk Public Schools spokeswoman Anthonette Ward said they have a rule in place that requires only adults to escort students displaying Covid-19 symptoms to the nurse's office. The school division is working with the Virginia Department of Health with contact tracing and to understand what might have exposed the kid to the virus. 

Ward said in an email statement following Sperry's parents' comments, "The protocol at Hillpoint Elementary School is for the classroom teacher or any adult to contact the main office with a Code “C”. When this occurs, one of the administrators or school nurse will come to the classroom to pick up the student,” she said in an email. “We are still investigating to ensure that this process was followed with fidelity.” Sperry's parents said they're vaccinated and her father has a break-through case of Covid-19 following his daughter's illness. 

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