Cherokee County bus driver dies of COVID-19, district confirms

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A Cherokee County bus driver has died from complications of COVID-19, the district confirmed Monday.

Channel 2′s Audrey Washington was at the district’s bus transportation center in Canton, where colleagues are mourning the driver’s death.

The school district said in a statement that the driver was a 63-year-old man who worked in the Creekview zone, but didn’t identify him further.

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“While we cannot release specific medical information per privacy laws protecting our employees, a 63-year-old CCSD school bus driver was hospitalized after becoming ill with COVID-19 during the latter part of winter break and sadly passed away Thursday evening. He had served CCSD for the past three years with dedication and excellence and will be missed by his students and colleagues and all who knew him.”

David Smith is the executive director of the Summit Counseling Center in metro Atlanta. He said it’s important for parents to know how to speak to their children about COVID-19 deaths.

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“So now more than ever, it’s important for parents to put their oxygen masks on first, and in this case, start by addressing and expressing their own feelings about the loss, trying to keep their own reactions separate from their child’s reactions,” Smith said. “It’s really important to focus on your child and be attentive to what your child’s reaction is.”

In January, two Cobb County teachers died from COVID-19 within just hours of each other.

The same month, a Gwinnett County educator also died from complications of the virus.

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2 Cobb teachers die of COVID-19 within hours of each other