Two women, aged 94 and 100, have passed away while under the medical care of the health authorities for being positive cases of Covid-19, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center announced yesterday.
The two women were part of the group of 14 residents and staff who had reportedly been infected with the virus at the Integrated Services Centre for the Elderly at Praia do Manduco.
According to the health authorities, both women had several undisclosed chronic diseases and passed away while under the care of the Health Bureau (SSM) at the Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane.
Although the authorities classified the two as the first deaths of patients infected with Covid-19, it is not clear at this point what the causes of death were and if they were related to the disease.
Their infections were detected on June 29 and 30, respectively, and previously the patients had been reported as stable and not needing special care or ventilators. Neither of these cases had been reported as severe.
According to the explanation by the SSM director, Alvis Lo, in both cases the women presented a “relatively low concentration of the virus with CT (cycle threshold) values between 30 and 40.” Nonetheless, they were in a health condition classified by Ao Ieong as “very weak.”
Questioned by the media, Lo clarified that while the 100-year-old woman had not been vaccinated against Covid-19, the 94-year-old had been inoculated with two doses of the inactivated Sinopharm vaccine.
Asked to elaborate on the chronic diseases of the patients, the director of SSM refused to provide more information, citing the confidential nature of the patients’ medical history.
