Brooklyn teacher, 30, dies of coronavirus: ‘She fought a long fight’

Despite having Sen. Schumer as an ally, Rana Zoe Mungin was refused acceptance into clinical trials for treatments that might have saved her life

Rana Zoe Mungin (Wellesley College blog)

A beloved Brooklyn schoolteacher died from complications of COVID-19 on Monday. Rana Zoe Mungin was a social studies teacher who contracted the virus last month and was turned away twice from an emergency room before finally being admitted to Brookdale Hospital on March 20.

Mungin was intubated and put on a ventilator. However, the life-saving measure did not help her.

READ MORE: Brooklyn teacher denied coronavirus test three times now on life support

According to PIX11.com, Mungin has a sister named Mia who is a registered nurse and had been her advocate. She worked fiercely on her sister’s behalf, writing letters to help her get added to clinical trials for unique medical treatments for the virus. Even Sen. Chuck Schumer wrote a letter to the Food and Drug Administration on Mia and Rana Zoe’s behalf. However, their efforts were not persuasive.



She posted a tweet announcing her sister’s passing yesterday, stating that her sister “fought a long fight.”



It is with heavy heart that I have to inform you all that my sister Rana Zoe Maybe has passed away today at 12:25pm due to COVID-19 complication. She fought a long fight but her body was to weak. 😞😪 — mia mungin (@MiaMungin) April 27, 2020

Mia began running a fever on March 10, one day after a member of her staff did. She says her sister Rana Zoe developed a fever two days later. The educator was given medicine to treat her asthma and for a headache. However, after three days at home as her sister decided to call an ambulance.

Mia says that her sister was turned away from the hospital many times and despite her symptoms, was not tested for COVID-19.

According to PIX11, doctors tried various treatments to help Mungin, and while some of her vital signs improved, she was not able to breathe on her own. The 30-year-old remained on the ventilator for more than a month prior to her passing.

READ MORE: Why does Black America have more COVID-19 deaths? Racism.

Rana Zoe was a graduate of Wellesley College and earned a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts. She was an avid writer who shared her thoughts on Black womanhood and community with Wellesley University’s alumnae blog.

She taught social studies at the Ascend Academy, a charter school in Brooklyn, and loved teaching history and self-empowerment to her students.

Sixty-five New York City school employees have died from COVID-19, 28 of them were teachers. Her community will surely miss her.