WATCH: CNN’s Brianna Keilar Breaks Down While Reading Emotional Last Goodbyes of Covid Victims in Moving Tribute

CNN’s Brianna Keilar broke down in tears Friday while reading emotional goodbye text message from Covid-19 victims.

“Going on ten months now into this crisis and it is the worst it has ever been. Nearly 390,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus. That’s approaching the number of American lives lost in World War II. That is nearly six NFL stadiums, if struggling for a visual way to think about this loss,” Keilar said. “In the first two weeks of this new year more than 42,000 people lost their lives. These 14 days, they are the deadliest in the entire pandemic.”

The anchor reminded viewers that each number represents a person with a family and loved ones before introducing a National Geographic project, produced by Katie Sanders and Celeste Sloman, which shows emotional last messages between Covid-19 victims and their family members.

“Kelsey Ellis, just 29-years-old visited her twin sister on their birthday, and Audrey was sick,” an emotional Keilar said, detailing the history behind the first goodbye messages she read.

“After they had their birthday meal, her lips were noticeably blue. Audrey went straight to the emergency room. She spent three days in the ICU. She was sending selfies to keep her sister updated. Kelsey wrote, ‘Please, don’t be scared. You are going to be okay. You are in the best hands and they will take care of you. Everyone is praying and sending good vibes your way. Love you, Wombie. You are doing better each day. Keep resting. Alo, no worries about momma, you know how she gets. We’re sending you so much love. We will always have our phones on. Audrey died the next day. And because of coronavirus restrictions, Kelsey picked up her twin sister’s ashes at a contact-less drive-through.”

Keilar went on to read several other deeply moving last text messages, becoming more and more emotional with each goodbye.

“Marco Reyes’ father José was a political prisoner in Cuba for 12 years before coming to the U.S.,” Keilar said. “José battled the virus for two weeks in the hospital. He FaceTimed and he texted before he went on a ventilator. After one of these FaceTime calls, José immediately texted his dad, he said, ‘Old man, I love you so much. I want you to walk out of there so we can have coffee together.’ And José responded, ‘I love you, too. Of course. Take care, kisses.’ Father’s Day was actually the last time they saw each other in person and José died three weeks after that text.”

Watch above, via CNN.

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