Two years ago, this video of classmates embracing each other before a weekend break hit a chord and went completely viral. At the last survey, the feelgood track was viewed approximately 24 million times:
The woman who posted it in November 2018, Zelene Blancas, was a teacher in El Paso, where she was much loved by her school as well as by the wider community, according to the New York Times. She died this week from complications of COVID-19 at just 35 years old.
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Blancas was tested positive for the virus on October 20 and was admitted to the hospital a few days later, her brother explained to the Times. Eventually, she exhausted all her sick leave and paid off time and turned to the internet for help with paying for her health care with a GoFundMe page.
“Her calling was just to spread kindness,” Cristina Sanchez-Chavira told the Times. ‘I think education was the vehicle she found, but it was she. She embodied kindness and made others feel special. And she did it in and out of the classroom. ‘
Blancas, otherwise healthy, showed signs of recovery early on and made progress before her condition worsened. She was intubated on Nov. 22, her brother told CNN.
According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University as of Sunday, more than 350,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19.