Noel Sinkiat
Noel Sinkiat, 64, planned to retire in December after 41 years working as a nurse at Howard University Hospital. He would finally go on a long motorcycle trip with his friends. On March 27 he died of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to his family. Sinkiat was the first member of National Nurses United, which represents about 150,000 health-care workers nationwide, to succumb to the virus, the union said. “It was so fast,” his wife, Lourdes Gerardo, said. As he was hospitalized at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center near their house in Olney, Md., Sinkiat’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Gerardo was able to see him only briefly, from behind a protective suit. Since her husband’s death, Gerardo has tested positive, so she could not pick up his body from t...