CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines – Officials of a government medical facility here concluded that the 48-year-old COVID-19 patient who passed away on Tuesday morning died of suicide.
“We are saddened with this. It is really heartbreaking,” said Dr. Gerardo Aquino Jr., the medical chief of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in a statement released on Tuesday evening.
The patient, he said, was admitted to the hospital last June 8 due to COVID-19 pneumonia confirmed by a rapid antibody test.
The patient was staying in a room on the third floor of the government facility.
At around 7 a.m. on June 9, the nurse on duty noted that the patient was singing in the room but suddenly shouted and became agitated.
An hour after, the nurse saw the patient bang his fist on the glass door.
At 8:20 a.m., the guard on duty spotted the patient roaming around the third-floor lobby.
“The attention of the patient was called, but it was to no avail. The patient forcibly broke the glass window near the elevators and jumped to his death towards the ground floor,” Aquino said.
The patient was declared dead on the spot due to “multiple physical injuries secondary to fall, intentional.”
Aquino said the hospital closely coordinated with the family which claimed the body at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
Aquino appealed to the public to maintain the support and prayers for all patients and healthcare workers to avoid stigma and discrimination.
“Everyone can experience emotional, mental, and physical drain at this crucial time. We should not add to the burden and sufferings that these fragile populations are experiencing at this time of pandemic,” he said.
“We need encouragement. We need each other. We are bigger that this pandemic and we care capable to heal as one,” he added.