Teen praised as ‘perfect student’ dies days after COVID diagnosis, MS school says
Those who had the pleasure of teaching 13-year-old Mkayla Robinson said she was “the perfect student.”
“Every teacher loved her and wanted 30 more just like her,” the Raleigh High School Lion Pride Marching Band wrote on Facebook.
Students and staff at the central Mississippi high school are mourning after Robinson died early Saturday, days after she contracted COVID-19. The band member and honor student attended class for most of the week before she became sick, WJTV reported, citing school officials.
Her death marks the fifth pediatric death caused by coronavirus in the Magnolia State since March 2020, according to the Clarion Ledger. It’s unclear if Robinson was vaccinated or had underlying health issues.
“We’re told every day that this new delta (variant) is attacking babies and we can see that it’s true,” Pastor Ronald Van Wilbon said during a prayer vigil held for the teen Sunday, the newspaper reported. “We cannot afford to continue to lose children, the price is too high. We are grieving the life of a 13-year-old baby that has left a mother, a father, two little brothers, a family and classmates behind due to COVID-19.”
Mississippi reported more than 3,300 new coronavirus cases and 67 deaths on Monday, according to latest data from the state’s Department of Health. Roughly 98% of new cases are among residents who haven’t been vaccinated, data show.
Robinson’s death comes as Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves faces mounting pressure to impose a statewide mask mandate in schools as the delta variant drives a surge in COVID-19 cases. Reeves said he has no plans to do so, however, and downplayed the impact of the pandemic on Mississippi’s youngest residents.
“For most children, it’s just a case of the sniffles,” he said during a news conference Friday, WAPT reported.
Prior to Robinson’s death, parents and teachers with the Smith County School District had pushed for more stringent COVID-19 protocols, according to Mississippi Today. The district started the school year Aug. 6 with no mask requirement in place. By Aug. 10, face masks were mandatory for all students, the newspaper reported.
As of Monday, Smith County Schools reported 78 positive cases among students with more than 470 students in quarantine, according to the district’s website.
McClatchy News reached out to the district Superintendent Nick Hillman on Tuesday and is awaiting a response.
“You know, it’s going to be different,” Raleigh High School Principal Staci Hughes told WJTV. “Some of those students are still quarantine, so they haven’t been able to come and walk the halls. We had extra councilors today, and those counselors called (Mkayla’s) grade level out to talk to them about the grieving process.”
Raleigh is about 50 miles southeast of Jackson.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Teen praised as ‘perfect student’ dies days after COVID diagnosis, MS school says."