A college freshman from the University of Dayton, Ohio, died from COVID-19 on Thursday, October 22.
Michael Lang, 18, was a College of Arts and Sciences student. He went back to his hometown of LaGrange, Illinois on September 13, as Dayton shifted to remote classes. He was hospitalized before he passed away.
The University of Dayton will hold a vigil for Lang, and school administrators expressed their sympathy and prayers. Lang’s loss “calls our campus community to honor his memory and support those who are affected by his passing,” the school said in a message.
Outbreak at Dayton
Dayton experienced an outbreak at the end of summer when several students were hospitalized. At the time, the university admitted that “too many faculty and staff” were affected with varying symptoms.
Minutes ago, the university sent an email announcing the death of a UD student due to complications of COVID-19; the email can be viewed below. pic.twitter.com/wF1PtXEKQh
— Flyer News (@FlyerNews) October 23, 2020
Since August 10, the school has been battling the outbreak, with 1,400 cases recorded throughout the campus.
The state of Illinois, which recently witnessed a surge in cases, also issued reminders to its citizens to keep wearing masks and practice social distancing.
Third Casualty
Lang becomes the third recorded COVID-19 casualty among college students.
Jamain Stephens, a 20-year old senior from California University in Pennsylvania, died due to coronavirus complications on September 8. Stephens was a varsity football player.
On September 28, Chad Dorill, a basketball player from Appalachian State, a part of the University of North Carolina, also passed away as a result of a coronavirus infection.
Over 214,000 students and faculty across more than 1,600 colleges and universities have caught the virus, according to The New York Times.