Maria Mercader had been on medical leave for an unrelated matter since late February, according to CBS News
Maria Mercader, a journalist and a producer for CBS News, has died from coronavirus at the age of 54, according to an announcement from CBS on Sunday.
The network said Mercader, who had been on medical leave for an unrelated matter since late February, passed away in a hospital in New York.
“Even more than her talents as a journalist, we will miss her indomitable spirit,” Susan Zirinsky, CBS News president and senior executive producer, said in a statement. “Maria was part of all of our lives. Even when she was hospitalized — and she knew something was going on at CBS, she would call with counsel, encouragement, and would say ‘you can do this.’ I called Maria a ‘warrior,’ she was. Maria was a gift we cherished.”
According to the network, Mercader also “fought cancer and related illnesses for more than 20 years, and was an inspiration each time she returned to work after a setback threatened to end her life.”
