Man, 84, lives for only 5 hours after reaching hospital for COVID-19 symptoms, getting swabbed for tests

SAN PEDRO CITY—An 84-year-old resident of Occidental Mindoro province died just hours after he was taken to a hospital after showing symptoms of COVID-19 and just after respiratory samples were taken from him for tests.

The male patient, who had resided in the town of San Jose, bore the tag person under investigation, or someone showing COVID-19 symptoms, at the time of his death.

The provincial health office said the man had been admitted to the San Jose District Hospital noon of March 22 as he suffered from fever and difficulty in breathing, two of the tell-tale signs of COVID-19 infection.

Health authorities took respiratory samples from the man by swabbing his nose and throat past 5 p.m. of March 22. He died some five hours later past 10 p.m.

There was no mention of COVID-19 as cause of death. According to hospital advisory, the man died of “acute respiratory disease syndrome secondary to pneumonia.” He also suffered from “chronic cardiac disease, chronic renal disease, diabetes and lupus.”

Health experts had found that the most vulnerable to COVID-19 are the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions.

Edited by TSB