13-Year-Old Girl Succumbs To COVID-19 Complications Just Hours After Testing Positive

A teen girl in Mississippi breathed her last just hours after finding out that she had contracted coronavirus.

The announcement was made on Facebook where Raleigh High School Band Director Paul Harrison posted on Saturday about the eighth-grade student named Mkayla Robinson. The post about the "perfect student" read, “It is with great sadness, and a broken heart, that I announce the passing of one of my 8th grade band students."

According to the post, all the teachers loved her and wanted more students like her. Harrison also requested people to pray for Raleigh Junior High, the band, and her family as they deal with the loss.

According to sources, the girl had visited the school most of the week before she tested positive for COVID-19. It didn't take long for her health to decline afterward, reported the Mississippi Free Press.

On Sunday, it was reported that Robinson had died of complications from COVID-19. Her vaccination status was not known.

She attended school in the Smith County School District where classes started on Aug. 6. In June, the district decided that it would let educators and students carry face masks in school, but would not be required to wear them. The decision was reversed after employees and students in the school district tested positive within the first three days of classes.

On Aug. 10, the district said, “After much consideration for the welfare of our children, Smith County Schools will require all personnel and students to wear a mask." As many as 11 educators and 76 students had tested positive for COVID by Friday. More than 400 students and 11 educators were quarantined by then.

Robinson's death came a day after Governor Tate Reeves said on Friday that, unlike last year, he will not make wearing masks in schools compulsory this fall.

On Friday, Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said that while most children recover from coronavirus, about 5% end up having long-term complications. From “long COVID,” they might also have health issues.

As per a new data from the Mississippi Department of Health, more than 5,000 new cases were reported on Saturday in the state, including 31 new deaths.