Mykal Jones exuded calm even when caring for the most challenging patients: young children and adolescents struggling with psychotic disorders and patients with drug abuse problems. For the past few years, he ran group discussions and monitored patients at a behavioral health center. "Everyone would talk to him," said Robin Knight, his girlfriend and a former nurse at the clinic.
Jones was an avid photographer who opened a studio before earning a degree in counseling.
When he wasn't working, Knight said, Jones was a devoted father figure to her four-year-old son, Liam, and cared for him as his own. He FaceTimed the toddler during lunch breaks and, in the evenings, brought him into the kitchen to "help" prepare dinner.
As Covid-19 cases in Delaware increased, Jones continued to work, although he mostly stayed home during his time off. Knight, who had tested positive for antibodies, said she believed Jones's only exposure was at work, where many patients tested positive and it was difficult to enforce mask-wearing policies.
In late April, one of Jones's patients died of Covid-19, Knight said, and on 1 May Jones tested positive.
A week later, Knight drove Jones, who had a 103F fever and low oxygen levels, to an emergency room. He was transferred to a Philadelphia hospital, where he spent nearly three months on life support before succumbing to the virus.
"Everyone that knew him loved him; he touched a lot of people," said Knight, adding that staff members, from the head of nursing to housekeepers, reached out to her after his death, many taking time off for a service held in front of the clinic, where they planted a tree and placed a plaque in his honor.
A representative from the Dover Behavioral Health System said in an email its administrators "closely follow the most up-to-date guidance and precautions from the CDC".
– Zoe Chevalier
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2020/aug/11/lost-on-the-frontline-covid-19-coronavirus-us-healthcare-workers-deaths-database#Mykal%20Jones$17%20Aug%202020
Jones was an avid photographer who opened a studio before earning a degree in counseling.
When he wasn't working, Knight said, Jones was a devoted father figure to her four-year-old son, Liam, and cared for him as his own. He FaceTimed the toddler during lunch breaks and, in the evenings, brought him into the kitchen to "help" prepare dinner.
As Covid-19 cases in Delaware increased, Jones continued to work, although he mostly stayed home during his time off. Knight, who had tested positive for antibodies, said she believed Jones's only exposure was at work, where many patients tested positive and it was difficult to enforce mask-wearing policies.
In late April, one of Jones's patients died of Covid-19, Knight said, and on 1 May Jones tested positive.
A week later, Knight drove Jones, who had a 103F fever and low oxygen levels, to an emergency room. He was transferred to a Philadelphia hospital, where he spent nearly three months on life support before succumbing to the virus.
"Everyone that knew him loved him; he touched a lot of people," said Knight, adding that staff members, from the head of nursing to housekeepers, reached out to her after his death, many taking time off for a service held in front of the clinic, where they planted a tree and placed a plaque in his honor.
A representative from the Dover Behavioral Health System said in an email its administrators "closely follow the most up-to-date guidance and precautions from the CDC".
– Zoe Chevalier
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2020/aug/11/lost-on-the-frontline-covid-19-coronavirus-us-healthcare-workers-deaths-database#Mykal%20Jones$17%20Aug%202020
Mykal Jones exuded calm even when caring for the most challenging patients: young children and adolescents struggling with psychotic disorders and patients with drug abuse problems. For the past few years, he ran group discussions and monitored patients at a behavioral health center. "Everyone would talk to him," said Robin Knight, his girlfriend and a former nurse at the clinic.
Jones was an avid photographer who opened a studio before earning a degree in counseling.
When he wasn't working, Knight said, Jones was a devoted father figure to her four-year-old son, Liam, and cared for him as his own. He FaceTimed the toddler during lunch breaks and, in the evenings, brought him into the kitchen to "help" prepare dinner.
As Covid-19 cases in Delaware increased, Jones continued to work, although he mostly stayed home during his time off. Knight, who had tested positive for antibodies, said she believed Jones's only exposure was at work, where many patients tested positive and it was difficult to enforce mask-wearing policies.
In late April, one of Jones's patients died of Covid-19, Knight said, and on 1 May Jones tested positive.
A week later, Knight drove Jones, who had a 103F fever and low oxygen levels, to an emergency room. He was transferred to a Philadelphia hospital, where he spent nearly three months on life support before succumbing to the virus.
"Everyone that knew him loved him; he touched a lot of people," said Knight, adding that staff members, from the head of nursing to housekeepers, reached out to her after his death, many taking time off for a service held in front of the clinic, where they planted a tree and placed a plaque in his honor.
A representative from the Dover Behavioral Health System said in an email its administrators "closely follow the most up-to-date guidance and precautions from the CDC".
– Zoe Chevalier
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2020/aug/11/lost-on-the-frontline-covid-19-coronavirus-us-healthcare-workers-deaths-database#Mykal%20Jones$17%20Aug%202020
Jones was an avid photographer who opened a studio before earning a degree in counseling.
When he wasn't working, Knight said, Jones was a devoted father figure to her four-year-old son, Liam, and cared for him as his own. He FaceTimed the toddler during lunch breaks and, in the evenings, brought him into the kitchen to "help" prepare dinner.
As Covid-19 cases in Delaware increased, Jones continued to work, although he mostly stayed home during his time off. Knight, who had tested positive for antibodies, said she believed Jones's only exposure was at work, where many patients tested positive and it was difficult to enforce mask-wearing policies.
In late April, one of Jones's patients died of Covid-19, Knight said, and on 1 May Jones tested positive.
A week later, Knight drove Jones, who had a 103F fever and low oxygen levels, to an emergency room. He was transferred to a Philadelphia hospital, where he spent nearly three months on life support before succumbing to the virus.
"Everyone that knew him loved him; he touched a lot of people," said Knight, adding that staff members, from the head of nursing to housekeepers, reached out to her after his death, many taking time off for a service held in front of the clinic, where they planted a tree and placed a plaque in his honor.
A representative from the Dover Behavioral Health System said in an email its administrators "closely follow the most up-to-date guidance and precautions from the CDC".
– Zoe Chevalier
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2020/aug/11/lost-on-the-frontline-covid-19-coronavirus-us-healthcare-workers-deaths-database#Mykal%20Jones$17%20Aug%202020
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