Summary
- Deceased is a 48-year-old man.
- Patient was admitted to MSJMC on Saturday and died the same day.
- Number of positive cases now at 19.
Antigua and Barbuda has recorded its first death from COVID-19, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Rhonda Sealy-Thomas announced Tuesday evening.
The deceased is a 48-year-old man.
Sealy Thomas said the man was taken by Emergency Medical Services to the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre on Saturday.
“He was managed for complications of diabetes, but because of his presentation, he was also suspected of having COVID-19,” Sealy-Thomas said at a news conference.
She said samples were taken and sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Despite medical intervention, the gentleman passed away in the intensive care unit on the same day of his admission,” the CMO said.
The man’s test results were reported to the health ministry on Tuesday as one of 17 samples that were sent to Trinidad on Monday.
Five of the 17 samples returned positive, among them the patient who passed away.
So far, 55 people in Antigua and Barbuda have been tested for COVID-19. Of these, 19 have been found to be positive.
Sealy-Thomas said three of the 19 are health-care workers, including one nurse and two doctors.
