A 30-year-old patient died after attending a “Covid party” in the United States, believing the virus to be a hoax, a medical official has said.
“Just before the patient died, they looked at their nurse and said ‘I think I made a mistake, I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not,’” said Dr Jane Appleby, the chief medical officer at Methodist hospital in San Antonio.
Appleby said: “I don’t want to be an alarmist, and we’re just trying to share some real-world examples to help our community realise that this virus is very serious and can spread easily.”
A “Covid party” is a gathering held by somebody diagnosed with coronavirus to see if the virus is real and to see if anyone gets infected, she explained.
Appleby said in her filmed comments at the weekend that she had been spurred to reveal the case after seeing a “concerning” rise in infections. She said 22% of tests were revealing a case of Covid-19, up from just 5% a few weeks ago.
The doctor said she was spurred to reveal the case after seeing a “concerning” rise in infections in the state.
“I don’t want to be an alarmist, and we’re just trying to share some real-world examples to help our community realise that this virus is very serious and can spread easily,” she was quoted to have said.
Appleby, who noted that a broader age range is being affected, with several 20 and 30-year-olds critically ill at the Methodist hospital, said a lot of young patients do not often realise “how sick they are” and advised people to take the risks seriously.
She said: “They don’t look really sick. But when you check their oxygen levels and their lab tests, they’re really sicker than they appear.
“Please wear a mask, stay at home when you can, avoid groups of people, and sanitise your hands.”
The US has the highest confirmed cases of COVID-19 and fatalities globally with almost 3.5 million.
