Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sharon Belmar-George, says a UK national died at a hotel here and later tested positive for COVID-19.
The Ministry of Health announced the 52 year old as this country’s 6th COVID-19 related death.
He arrived here on December 30, 2020 and died on January 9, 2021.
Officials say he was not in care at the time of his passing.
“He passed away at the hotel,” the CMO explained.
She did not name the property.
According to local officials, during the period November 23, 2020 to January 13, 2021 they documented of 60 cases at the resort.
These included the UK national.
However the CMO said the man was not a COVID patient with respiratory symptoms.
“As per our protocol we test the dead persons just to make sure we are not missing any case,” Belmar-George explained.
“We report our cases as a COVID-related death,” she told Lissa Joseph of the National Television Network (NTN).
“We are not saying COVID killed the person,” Belmar-George said.
“It is COVID-related in that they were positive for COVID, either while they were in care or after their death,” she stated.
The CMO told NTN that the UK national arrived here with a negative COVID-19 test.
She disclosed that it was difficult to say whether the man was already infected when he arrived here, or contracted the virus on property.
“COVID-19 has an incubation period of 14 days,” the CMO stated.
“From getting into contact with someone who has it, up to fourteen days later at any point in that period, you could become positive.”
“He could have become positive at any point in that period,” she asserted.
