'My wife is part of the COVID death numbers': APS school employee dies of coronavirus

ATLANTA - An Atlanta Public Schools high school office clerk passed away three weeks into her battle with COVID-19.

Melissa Sheats was a wife and mother of two sons, her husband cried as FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor began talking to him.

"She fought and I helped her fight but as the days went on, it got unbearable for her," Ricardo Sheats said.

Mr. Sheats says his wife was dedicated to her job and had even been working in the building this school year, while the students were learning virtually.

"She loved it. She is a people person. I'm going to work. I am going to work and  I would say , are you sure?, her husband recalled.

Mr. Sheats said his wife had a heart condition and was very conscious about wearing her mask. But on January 15, her last day working at the school, the 49-year-old called him and said she didn't feel well.

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"She called me and said she needed to go to urgent care. The results came back that Saturday, she was positive for COVID."

Mr. Sheats says Melissa fought as long as she could.

"She was hurting real bad and she kept saying she was scared and her breathing almost stopped," he recalled.

On January 24, she went to the hospital with COVID-19 symptoms and never came out. Her death leaves her family devastated and her husband afraid to leave the house.

"Honestly speaking we need to shut this city down, we might not be able to shut the state down, but we should start with the city because this is real, " Mr. Sheats said emphatically.

"Thirty-two years and now I got to watch TV and my wife is part of the COVID death numbers. I didn't want a memory like this here," he concluded.

Atlanta Public Schools released the flowing statement:

"In alignment with our protocols and out of an abundance of caution, all faculty and staff at South Atlanta High School will return to teleworking and continue to engage students through remote virtual learning beginning Friday, February 4th and ending Wednesday, February 10th.  During this time, the building will undergo a deep cleaning and the District will continue to refine and enforce its health and mitigation strategies. In working to keep our students and staff safe, the District had previously slowed the pace of return to in-person learning to provide more time to intensify and add to our current mitigation strategies, and we have implemented a comprehensive COVID-19 testing strategy."