38-year-old Iowa teacher dies three days after testing positive for coronavirus

State has seen rise in Covid-19 cases in recent days

A 38-year-old teacher from Iowa died three days after he tested positive for coronavirus, amid a rise of cases in the state.

Jason Englert, 38, who taught in the Belmond-Klemme Community School District in Iowa, was found dead in his home on Sunday, after police responded to reports that he had failed to respond to messages, according to the Des Moines Register.

Mr Englert tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday 5 November, just a few days after the district switched to full time remote-learning in response to an outbreak of Covid-19 among pupils and staff.

“This week, October 26 – 28, the Belmond-Klemme Community School District has experienced a sudden and severe outbreak of Covid-19 among our secondary students and staff,” Dan Frazier, the school district superintendent, wrote in late October.

Mr Frazier told parents that five secondary school students in the district had tested positive for Covid-19, as 62 others were identified as contacts, according to the Daily Mail.

Mr Englert, who had worked as a mathematics teacher his whole career, was in his first year teaching students in the Belmond-Klemme Talented and Gifted programme.

Mr Frazier paid tribute to him, writing: “Jason was always such a pleasure to have because he had such a positive attitude,” according to the Mail.

“He was just a very energetic guy, and he always had a cheerful way of looking at things. It wasn't unusual for me to ask him how it was going and he would say things like ‘living the dream.’” Mr Frazier added.

One of Mr Englert’s colleagues, Anne-Kathrin Reuter, wrote in his online obituary: “He was not just a colleague, he was my friend.”

She added: “Thank you for always being my friend and making me laugh ... and sharing your secret sweets stash on stressful school days. I will miss you.”

Iowa reported more than 5,000 daily cases of Covid-19 for the first time on Friday, as 19 people died after contracting the virus.

The state has so far recorded around 173,000 cases of Covid-19, and at least 1,974 deaths, as the number of positive tests has dramatically increased across the US.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 10.5 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 242,710.