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The Human Side Of The Coronavirus Fatality Statistics


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2020 Apr 14, 9:11am   429 views  0 comments

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#coronavirusfatalities/humansideAnd Finally …

Rosary Celaya Castro-OlegaFamily image
We’re continuing with our remembrances of those lost in the pandemic. (If you’d like to share memories of a Californian who has died, please email us at CAtoday@nytimes.com .)

Today’s piece, about Rosary Celaya Castro-Olega, was written by Annette Choi:

It was hard to miss Rosary Celaya Castro-Olega when she made her nursing rounds on the eighth floor of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s south tower in Los Angeles.

Decked out in purple scrubs, her personality was on full display.

“Even after 12-hour shifts, she made it to birthdays and anniversaries,” her daughter, Tiffany Olega, said. “And she was always on the dance floor.”

Mrs. Castro-Olega worked as a registered nurse for 37 years before retiring in 2017. She continued to volunteer at short-staffed hospitals in Los Angeles County. And when the pandemic hit, she showed up without hesitation.

Her daughter said it was not known if her mother was infected through contact with patients. But in mid-March, Mrs. Castro-Olega went to the emergency room with a bad cough and fever and tested positive for Covid-19. She spent her final days on a ventilator in intensive care at the Panorama City Medical Center and died on March 29. She was 63.

“I just can’t believe she’s gone,” her best friend, Annie Neal, said. “I have the urge to text her, but I can’t.”

Mrs. Castro-Olega was always ready for fun, whether it was riding roller coasters at Disneyland or cheering at Kobe Bryant’s last N.B.A. game — dressed in purple gear, naturally.

“She’d do anything for anybody,” Ms. Neal said. “She’s our purple angel.”

California Today goes live at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com . Were you forwarded this email? Sign up for California Today here and read every edition online here.

Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, graduated from U.C. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles — but she always wants to see more. Follow along here or on Twitter.

California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley.

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