Three Educators Lose Battle With COVID-19 In Less Than 24 Hours In Florida County

UPDATE: Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco clarified on Friday August 13, it was three, not four, Broward County School employees who passed away during a 24-hour period. Two teachers and a teachers assistant.

The fourth death was a Broward County Public Schools graduate with close ties to the school district through her job.

None of the people who died were vaccinated, said Fusco.

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - When it comes to picking its victims, COVID-19 does not discriminate. The vicious virus, in less than one day this week, between Tuesday and Wednesday, claimed the lives of three school teachers and an assistant teacher in South Florida's Broward County.

Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco said, "Within a 24-hour span, we had an assistant teacher pass away, a teacher at her school pass away, an elementary teacher pass away and another teacher at a high school."

You would think this stunning number of educators dead from COVID in such a short time period, with less than one week before school begins, would be unfathomable, but Fusco says she hears about such tragedies way too often. "It's extremely frightening. I hear this every day. Whether in Broward or elsewhere. We're the 5th largest union in the country," said Fusco.

Dr. Rosalind Osgood, the chair of the Broward County School Board, said they mourn the loss of three of their own. "I have been on the school board for 9 years, and for 9 years you get to connect with them," she said. "You love them. They become family."

The teachers, ironically, all dying around the same time Broward County's School Board voted to defy Gov. Ron DeSantis' order to drop the mask mandate.

Despite the dangers, the governor is sticking to his guns. "We believe the parents rather than the government should be making this decision," said DeSantis.

Fusco is relieved the board chose its own move when it comes to masks. "We got a little bit of relief, keeping mask protocols, hand sanitizer, extra sanitizing," she added.

Fusco said the teachers who died were unvaccinated.