FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2020 
COVID-19 claims life of Venezuelan Cameraman, Yvan Osorio
Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is devastated by the loss of Yvan Osorio, 54, who passed away from COVID-19 this past Friday.
Yvan was a native of El Vigía, Merida state, in Venezuela. There he worked as a cameraman for the Televisora Andina de Mérida “TAM” and Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) before he immigrated to the United States where he worked as a cameraman for various important television channels and audiovisual companies.
Prior to being detected with COVID-19, Yvan suffered from diabetes. On April 16, Yvan was hospitalized at Hospital Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey, after spending three weeks at home experiencing the virus symptoms and taking medications that were prescribed by the first doctors who checked him and ordered him to quarantine at home.
Yvan was hospitalized and maintained in isolation till the day of his passing. He leaves behind his wife Lila Sánchez and their two children whom he wasn’t able to see since April 16. Yvan and his family would communicate via telephone when Yvan was able to breathe and talk.
Even during the pandemic, Yvan continued to storytell through his lens, afterall, it was what he loved doing.
“My heart goes out to Yvvan’s wife, children and friends; he had a great passion for what he did and set a great example for many,” said Hugo Balta, NAHJ President. “The act of saying goodbye to a loved one and missing the final moments is the most devastating thing COVID-19 has caused.”
A GoFundMe page was created to help the family with funeral expenses. If you would like to contribute and help Yvan’s family, the link has been attached here.
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About the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ)
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States and dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. The mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latinos in the newsrooms and to work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in the news media. Established in April 1984, NAHJ created a national voice and unified vision for all Hispanic journalists. NAHJ has approximately 2,500 members, including working journalists, journalism students, other media-related professionals, and journalism educators. For more information please visit NAHJ.org or follow on Twitter @NAHJ.
Media Contact:
BA Snyder
Veritas Group for NAHJ
512.630.6337
BA@VeritasAustin.com