Second COVID-19 Victim Had Several Underlying Illnesses

7
Positive blood test result for the new rapidly spreading Coronavirus, originating in Wuhan, China

The second person to die from COVID-19 related complications in Antigua & Barbuda had a number of underlying illnesses a health official has said.

“He had several comorbidities including the routine ones that we talk about all the time, the hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure and so forth”, said Dr. Albert Duncan, the Medical Director at the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre (MSJMC).

The elderly patient, who Dr. Duncan said was “about 73-years-old” was admitted to hospital around March 22.

He was taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) a few days later where he remained until he succumbed to the illness Tuesday evening.

According to the Medical Director, there are now three patients remaining in the ICU who has tested positive for COVID-19.

“The ICU has a capacity of 9 beds, so for all intents and purposes it could house 9 people in the ICU at any given time”, Dr. Duncan revealed.

He added “every bed has a ventilator and there’s an excess of about 15 ventilators outside the beds in the ICU”.

The 73-year-old man’s death followed the passing of a 48-year-old male who died from complications of COVID-19 on Saturday.

“These are people who were in the ICU struggling. The success rate for people who are vented in the ICU in this particular disease process is really very poor. It’s unfortunate but this is the disease process we are left to fight”, the Medical Director said.

“We don’t really know much about this disease process and every day we learn something new so it’s not much you can really say, I mean, I think again I would like to emphasize the social distancing, washing hands and so forth, that’s all we can do and wear a mask every time you have an opportunity to be out in public and certainly the healthcare professionals need to exhibit care as they take care of these patients in the hospital”, he added.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]

7 COMMENTS

  1. I really don’t understand what is going on here, why it take so long to bring out the news of the patient that died since Saturday, am confused. We need to be updated properly, and we are not getting all the right information. We should not never have gone to nineteen cases if we are properly informed. The Chinese people were wearing mask all the time, and there workers left out in the cold now everybody should where mask,we should have been told that from the beginning, but was told it was not necessary, I blame the government for this reckless act. But god is in control. Thank you nurses and doctors 🥼.

    • Concern Citizen-the man went into the hospital on Saturday and died a few hours after,at the time of his death he was not tested for Covid -19,he was swabbed however, and the test came back one day ago after his death..It was then he was listed as a Covid death..How could they have listed him as dying from the Virus when that was not substantiated at the time of his death????

  2. COVID19 strategy

    1 Zone the country by establishing the parishes and Barbuda.

    2 Create strategic check points maned by soldiers not police offices at borders for parishes.

    3 No one is permitted to move outside of parish.

    4 Establish medical icu facility, hospital, quarantine, police, supermarket and media etc in each zone.

    5 Curfew 24/7 with a hotline to call if supplies runs low. At no time should anyone one be allowed on a public road without calling the toll free hotline first.

    6 Supplies should be delivered to homes period.

    • @Melchisedec: Is that really the best recommendation you could come up with? Did you even think about your recommendations?

      We are from a small state! How long has it taken for the.government to build one COVID centre? They equipment and PPE are both in high demand at the moment. The USA is placing orders for thousands of ventilators and millions of PPE. Which order you think will be filled first, Antigua with 20 ventilators or the USA with 100,000? Plus most items would have to be shipped from or pass through the USA first.

      Most of the banks and other essentials services may have one or two branches, most in St. John’s, are these business to go build branches in each parish and then find workers in each parish for a pandemic that may last a few months?

      When will our government be able to complete a hospital, a pharmacy, a police station and fire station and all necessary services in each parish? And how effective would it be after the pandemic is over?

      I could go on but I think you will get the drift.

  3. I saw a video online where doctors add fittings on ventilator to feed oxygen to 8 patients or more from one machine. Just in case we end up needing more.

Comments are closed.