SINGAPORE: A 44-year-old man who had died earlier this week from a heart disease was infected with COVID-19, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday (Jun 11).
This is the 7th case of a coronavirus patient dying due to issues other than COVID-19.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Indian national, known as Case 39327, had developed chest and epigastric pain on May 28 and sought medical treatment at a General Practitioner clinic, MOH said in its press release.
On Monday, he was found unconscious at his place of residence and taken to Singapore General Hospital’s emergency department.
He was confirmed to have had a COVID-19 infection on Wednesday, two days after his death, which MOH attributed to ischaemic heart disease.
[h=3]READ: Singapore reports 422 new COVID-19 cases; JEM, Pioneer Mall added to list of places visited by infectious cases[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisementThe man is the 7th case of COVID-19 patients whose deaths were not added to the official toll because they died of non-coronavirus issues rather than the COVID-19.
In May, four COVID-19 patients had died due to blood clots and heart-related issues, with another two deaths in April.
In some cases, the patients were only confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 after their deaths.
“Only cases where the attending doctor or pathologist attributes the primary or underlying cause of death as due to COVID-19 infection will be added to the COVID-19 death count,” MOH said.
"This is consistent with international practice for classifying deaths."
Other countries have reported seeing an increased risk of blood clots and heart disease in COVID-19 patients.
But Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said in a written answer to Parliament last week that authorities cannot "definitively conclude" if this was the case in Singapore, given that only one out of 1,000 COVID-19 patients here experience “cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and blood clots”.
Nevertheless, he said MOH had issued a guidance to all doctors last month to look out for cardiovascular symptoms in patients with the coronavirus and to also provide guidance on evaluating and managing such patients.
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: Telegram: Contact @cnalatest
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...