Teacher collapses and dies ‘of coronavirus’ in front of shocked students while teaching lesson on Zoom
A TEACHER is suspected to have died of coronavirus after struggling to breathe and then collapsing during a Zoom lecture.
Paola De Simone, 46, a professor at the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa in Buenos Aries, died on Wednesday.
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The professor complained she was not feeling very well and was suffering breathing difficulties as she taught a lesson on Zoom, reports .
Her condition then worsened and soon students were begging her to give them her home address so they could send an ambulance.
De Simone reportedly however on managed to gasp "I can't" before collapsing in the middle of the lecture.
In the days leading up to the tragedy she had expressed concerns about her health.
The teacher had been suffering persistent coronavirus symptoms - including a cough - for more than a month.
Local media reported her husband, a doctor, found her dead when he arrived home.
Students, friends and colleagues have all paid tribute to her as they described her as an "unforgettable teacher".
Coronavirus cases are on the rise in Argentina, with some 471,806 cases and 9,739 deaths as the count has been around 10,000 new infections per day since August.
Professor De Simone leaves behind a daughter and had previously said her husband had been very busy fighting the pandemic.
Writing on Twitter at the end of August, the professor said: "It is very complicated. I have been here [with the virus] for more than four weeks and the symptoms do not go away.
";My husband is exhausted from working so much at the moment."
Distressing video of her collapse on Zoom has been circulated on social media.
Student Ana Breccia said: “My classmates and I in class were the last ones she spoke to.
"She began by saying that she had pneumonia, we saw it was worse than in previous classes.
"At one point she could not continue passing slides, nor speak and she became unbalanced."
'EXCELLENT TEACHER'
Another one of her students described Professor De Simone as an "excellent teacher, but above all an excellent person, loved and admired by all her students".
The university confirmed her death in a statement, saying it had left the them with "deep pain".
It added: "Paola was a passionate and dedicated teacher, and a great person, with more fifteen years of experience".
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Another student said: "Unforgettable teacher, one of those who give you a hand in everything, who make you love what you study, who go out of their way for their students. We are going to miss you a lot."
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Facundo Cruz, an academic coordinator at UADE. wrote on Twitter: "Farewell to a friend. We will miss you."
He added she had carried on teaching despite not being to shake a persistent cough.