By Joe Johnson
With the start of the fall semester just two weeks away, an employee at the University of Georgia recently died from the COVID-19 disease, Classic City News has learned.
UGA spokesman Greg Trevor on Wednesday confirmed an employee recently died, but he said he was unable to confirm the cause of death.
”We are not in a position to confirm the cause of death. The university does not determine the cause of death when we tragically lose a co-worker,” he said.
Trevor also said, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of a member of the University of Georgia community. Our sympathy goes out to our co-worker’s family and friends. Out of respect for them, we will not comment further."
Trevor would not say what position the employee held or when the employee passed away.
Classic City News confirmed with multiple sources that a female employee died from COVID-19 late last month.
The death occurred with fall semester classes scheduled to begin on Aug. 20.
UGA has a total undergraduate and graduate student enrolment of about 40,000, and a workforce of nearly 11,000 people.
In an attempt reduce the spread of the virus that causes the potentially deadly COVID-19 disease, the university reportedly has spent millions of dollars on such safety measures as Plexiglass barriers for facilities, digital thermometers, face masks, and plans to test volunteer faculty and staff for the virus.
Some classes will be taught online and others both online and with an in-person teaching component. The university said that classes will not be held in large lecture halls.
Many faculty members do not believe the reopening plan is adequate, and believe it is potentially dangerous.
The United Campus Workers of Georgia plans to hold a "die-in" at the UGA campus from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday to protest the reopening of the university.