An 18-year-old freshman at the University of Dayton in Ohio died Thursday “apparently due to complications from" coronavirus, school officials said.
Michael Lang, a first-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences, died in LaGrange, Illinois, after a long hospitalization, the university said. It was not clear how long Lang had been hospitalized or whether he contracted the virus on or off campus.
“We extend our deepest sympathy and prayers to his family, friends, professors and our campus community,” the university said in a message to the school on Friday. “The loss of Michael calls our campus community to honor his memory and support those who are affected by his passing.”
Lang was living on-campus before returning to his hometown and switching to remote learning on Sep. 13, the university said.
Campus community members were invited to light a candle of remembrance and pray at the school’s chapel on Friday afternoon.
Since students returned to campus on Aug. 8, the University of Dayton has seen spikes and declines in Covid-19 cases, forcing students to move between classroom and online instruction, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
According to the University of Dayton’s Covid-19 dashboard, which has tracked Covid-19 cases since Aug. 10, the school reported 34 active people with the virus and a total of 1,417 cases, as of Monday morning.
Lang isn’t the first college student to die from Covid-19 or related complications.
Earlier in September, 20-year-old football player Jamain Stephens Jr. at California University of Pennsylvania passed away from Covid-19 complications, NBC Washington reported.
And late last month, NBC News reported that Chad Dorill, a “healthy” sophomore at Appalachian State University died from coronavirus at age 19.
Paul Lang, the father of Michael, told the Today Show his family was devastated by the loss of his son.
“Our kid is in a better place, and he’ll be looking down on us,” he said. “But he’s 18. He was way too young.”
