A 10-year-old girl has died from Covid after it was claimed she was in charge of taking care of sick classmates at her school.
The heartbroken parents of Teresa Sperry said she was "perfectly healthy" before she contracted the virus last month.
Nicole and Jeff Sperry said their daughter started feeling unwell on September 22 and had to be taken to the hospital after suffering from a severe cough.
They said Teresa had mentioned she was responsible for escorting any pupils who were not feeling well out of the classroom at Hillpoint Elementary School in Suffolk, Virginia, US.
Teresa was tested for Covid before being returning home but her condition worsened and she was transferred to Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Virginia, where she sadly died.
Nicole wrote in a Facebook post on September 27 that Teresa "was perfectly healthy" and "would have continued to be here if people would have stopped sending their sick kids to school."
She told The Virginia Plot : "We did everything we could have done and now we've lost a part of our hearts. Covid is real and it doesn't care who it takes."
Nicole said the hospital didn't seem too concerned with Teresa's condition but two days after she died it was confirmed that she had tested positive for coronavirus.
In a separate Facebook post see wrote: "I would love for Covid to be over or a hoax.
"Because if it was i'll be able to wake up from this nightmare."
Nicole and Jeff were vaccinated and were planning to get Teresa and her nine-year-old brother jabbed when it became available for children under 12.
The grieving parents hope their situation will urge people to take the pandemic more seriously.
She told NBC affiliate WAVY : "While I was sitting next to my dead daughter, there was a Chesapeake School Board meeting and people were saying, 'This does not affect healthy people. This does not kill healthy people. It is not going to take out children. It’s over.
"Well, I am here to tell you it is not over."
She added: “If it was over, my daughter would still be here, we wouldn’t be doing these interviews, we wouldn’t be preparing for her funeral.
"It upsets me so much that people are so nonchalant about it, while my only girl is gone."
Anthonette Ward, a spokeswoman for Suffolk Public Schools, said they were investigating the parents' claims.
She added: “The protocol at Hillpoint Elementary School is for the classroom teacher or any adult to contact the main office with a Code ‘C.’
"When this occurs, one of the administrators or school nurse will come to the classroom to pick up the student."
