Ladysmith’s first official Covid-19 death has been confirmed

An elderly patient passed away yesterday afternoon (March 28) at La Verna Lenmed Private Hospital.

The hospital has confirmed that he was admitted there after testing positive for Covid-19 and the family have confirmed that he died a while later.

He had recently returned from a visit to the Kruger National Park game reserve, after which he started feeling ill. He was initially tested for tick-bite fever and later for malaria, and finally for Covid-19. The test returned positive for Covid-19 and his condition rapidly deteriorated.

Also read: Ladysmith surgeon in quarantine for Covid-19

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The man’s family and friends have gone into self-isolation and where needed have undergone testing for the deadly coronavirus, said a family friend who asked not to be named.

The publication attempted to contact the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) for more information. However, the NICD does not confirm individual cases per person, but rather infection figures per province as per their code of ethics.

Responding to our queries, a spokesperson for the NICD said, “We cannot give patient information to the media. If there are any deaths that are Covid-related, the Minister will announce.”

The Department of Health was informed when the patient was admitted, said hospital management.

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