'Any concerns' over COVID-19 death 'will be addressed'- Health Minister
In a press release on April 18, 2020, the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) said the Virgin Islands (VI) registered its first death due to COVID-19.
It identified the victim as a 52-year-old female, who was admitted to the ICU at the Dr D. Orlando Smith Hospital, and said she was treated in accordance with standard clinical protocols but unfortunately succumbed.
Is the hospital to be blamed?
Rumours surrounding the death quickly began circulating on social media, including that the woman had been in contact with the hospital after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms but was never tested or admitted prior.
“I am not talking about any confidential information. I am asking you if the hospital from your knowledge is to be blamed? Or was there any faltering in relation to what happened at the hospital?” Lewis asked during a live press conference at the Office of the House of Assembly (HoA) on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.
The minister; however, was not amused.
He said: “You are the press and a grown adult, what kind of question is that? If the hospital is to be blamed?”
Lewis then said: “I am asking you sir, was the patient ever turned back from the hospital when they were seeking assistance?”
Minister Malone then stated: “If there were any concerns, they will be addressed.”
VI long on rumours
“This place is always going to be long on rumours and short on facts,” Hon Malone continued.
“The fact is we had a person who passed, we have sent condolences to the family and we want to make sure that we respect the person in all regards in this. So if there are any issues that are unknown, unresolved, it will be done in a professional manner, surely it would not be done here in a press conference,” he remarked.
Lewis said he was simply trying to find out ‘what happened’ because residents are ‘assuming and jumping to conclusions’ and as media personnel, these questions are often posed to them.
Lewis explained that the allegations are that the woman allegedly made more than one trip to the Dr D. Orlando Smith Hospital but was turned away.
Calls were also reportedly made to the medical hotline by the family of the now deceased woman, however, that was futile as well, according to reports.
23 Responses to “'Any concerns' over COVID-19 death 'will be addressed'- Health Minister”
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Treat the lady and the press with some respect. Answers are required. There will be a reckoning.
By the way, even if the minister did answer the question some will still feel he’s lying base on the fact that most of us tend to believe rumors to be truth.
Wow! Thank God this is being looked at. They owe the deceased and the public a full investigation and criminal accountability if warranted. That one case has cost the people of Tortola tremendous inconvience and plenty of personal and business loss. It's curious to see Malone fire back like that. Does he have a vested interest in that hospital or staff? I'll be happy to help investigate.
I am not a Zan Lewis fan either. Nothing was wrong with the question, the minister well knows the public has concerns about the circumstances surrounding the dear lady’s death, and would have looked better answering the question instead of acting like a joker. No one wants the confidential details on her life. But was she turned back from Peebles on more than one occasion? That’s the darn question! We need to know for our own comfort level in the event the same thing happens to us.