St. Vincent and the Grenadines, on Monday, recorded its second COVID-19 death.
The deceased is an 80-year-old male who was admitted to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital on Friday, with complications of a chronic non-communicable disease, the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) said in a press statement.
“The elderly gentleman tested positive for COVID-19 during the routine screening conducted on all admissions,” the statement added.
“The patient who was managed on the COVID-19 Isolation Ward became unstable and died at 4:30 a.m. today, January 18, 2021.”
The death follows that, on Friday, of a 49-year-old female with multiple pre-existing conditions.
NEMO said then that the woman presented to the hospital services on Thursday evening, Jan. 14, with difficulty breathing.
She was confirmed to be positive for COVID-19 on admission, rapidly deteriorated and died at 5 p.m. on Friday.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves extended condolences to the family of the woman, whom he identified as Jestina Pompey.
“I know Jestina. Of course, she’s Spiritual Baptist Archbishop [Melford] Pompey’s sister,” he said on WE FM.
“And I paid my respects to him and the family already by telephoning him. He told me, without any prompting, or anything that Jestina had really serious pre-existing conditions. We don’t need to mention them and the press release did address serious pre-existing conditions. She was a good and gentle soul,” Gonsalves said.
NEMO said, on Monday, that 494 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in SVG as of Sunday.
Of these, 118 persons have recovered, 374 cases remain active and two persons with COVID-19 have died.
Time for 3 week border close and evening or night curfew. Control and suppress the virus now!
Well Covid will reveal who has undiagnosed pre existing conditions. Prayers up, for all the diabetic, hypertensive, obese, cardiac, nephrologic, cancer and all the other Vincentian with an illness.
By the way, when you remove this group from the population- not much is left.