Clarity is needed in reporting COVID deaths

| 14/11/2021 | 126 Comments
Cayman News Service

In his video message about the death of a COVID-positive patient at the Cayman Islands Hospital on Saturday evening, Premier Wayne Panton muddied the waters of what is and is not a COVID death, which should be clarified as soon as possible by the health ministry. All deaths are devastating to loved ones and CNS extends our condolences to this man’s friends and family. We have no wish to impose on their grief or in any way suggest that the death itself is not a personal tragedy. In a small community, all deaths are felt keenly.

However, in these extreme times all COVID deaths, including the two previous ones, have serious implications for everyone living here, not only for local health reasons but also for the Cayman Islands’ international reputation.

In his message, the premier said, “While the cause of death was unrelated to COVID-19, his passing must be counted among our pandemic-related statistics due to his positive status.” 

Unfortunately, he did not explain which statistics this relates to or why it must be reported as such, and this will undoubtedly tap into a popular conspiracy theory that COVID isn’t really a dangerous disease and that everyone who dies ‘with COVID’ would have died anyway.

The internet is replete with claims that if someone dies in a road accident and happened to be positive, this will become a ‘COVID death’. As Health Minister Sabrina Turner has already expressed a desire to counter misinformation, she should make sure that clarifications and definitions are forthcoming.

First, let’s look at the World Health Organization’s International Guidelines for Certification and Classification of  COVID-19 as Cause of Death. See the whole document here.

It states: “A death due to COVID-19 is defined for surveillance purposes as a death resulting from a clinically compatible illness, in a probable or confirmed COVID-19 case, unless there is a clear alternative cause of death that cannot be related to COVID disease (e.g. trauma). There should be no period of complete recovery from COVID-19 between illness and death. 

“A death due to COVID-19 may not be attributed to another disease (e.g. cancer) and should be counted independently of preexisting conditions that are suspected of triggering a severe course of COVID-19.”

Under these definitions, if the premier was correct that “the cause of death was unrelated to COVID-19”, then this death appears not to be a COVID death as far as the WHO is concerned.

In the UK, there are two agencies that compile death statistics: the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which was previously Public Health England (PHE).

The ONS definition of COVID deaths (see full explanation here): “When we say that a death ‘involved’ COVID-19, we mean that COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, possibly along with other health conditions, not necessarily as the underlying cause of death. When we say that a death was ‘due to’ COVID-19, we mean that COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death, because it was either the only health condition mentioned on the death certificate, or it was the one that started the train of events leading to death.”

The ONS provides two figures, one for deaths involving COVID and one for deaths due to COVID. See the latest update here.

Conversely, UKHSA daily death figures include (quoted from here):

  • the number of deaths in people with COVID-19 that occur within 28 days of a first positive laboratory-confirmed test. This is intended to provide a headline indicator of the immediate impact of recent epidemic activity. Deaths that occur more than 28 days after a positive test will not be included in this count.
  • the number of deaths that occur within 60 days of a first positive test. Deaths that occur after 60 days will also be added to this figure if COVID-19 appears on the death certificate. This will provide a more complete measure of the burden of the disease over time.

The differences in the two sets of data are explained by UKHSA: “PHE has been counting all deaths in people who have laboratory-confirmed infection – this is technically robust because it does not require a judgement to be made about cause of death. ONS reports deaths where a doctor suspects COVID-19 as a cause – these data include a clinical assessment as recommended by WHO but are subject to variation in clinical judgement as to the cause of death… The PHE data series is also available daily, making it more useful for real-time surveillance, whereas the ONS survey only appears once a week and is delayed.”

In other words, the data sets are compiled for different reasons. The UKHSA data is needed to catch any rapid upward swings in COVID cases so that public health authorities can react quickly. The ONS data is more complete and accurate for long-term planning of health resources.

Because of the nature of SARS-CoV-2 and the vulnerabilities of the elderly and people with co-morbidities to serious illness and death, reporting the mortality rate in every country has been both difficult and controversial since the beginning of the pandemic, especially in a time of deep mistrust of authorities and the proliferation of Facebook ‘experts’.

Here in Cayman, where the reporting of the coronavirus generally over the last few weeks has been poor, the health ministry must get to grips with letting people know if patients in hospital are ill ‘with’ COVID or ‘from’ COVID. In other words, if they are ill with something unrelated and by-the-by have the disease with no actual symptoms of COVID, or if COVID is making them ill or actively contributing to making them more ill.

Everyone fervently hopes that there will be no more deaths related to the coronavirus, but there is real public concern and a need to know how COVID-19 is affecting the community, and particularly how the vaccines against it are performing. While there are data privacy issues, there is also the possibility of real harm done by gossip and panic if misinformation goes unchecked.

In this most recent death, the premier gave the impression that COVID was not a factor, and this has also been speculated about the two previous deaths. What the community needs is clarity over whether COVID was a contributing factor in all three deaths according to the WHO definitions.

Cayman also needs to make it clear to potential visitors the status of ‘COVID deaths’. If no one has yet died ‘due to COVID’, this should be reflected in our statistics.

The government must also explain who it is reporting to and why and how these figures are being used. In the UKHSA statistics, among thousands of deaths, a ‘COVID death’ that was not caused by COVID is not significant. Here in Cayman, the significance is enormous.


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Comments (126)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    If you wouldn’t have died at the time you did, had you not caught COVID, then that shit is responsible for your death. Every minute of life is precious.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Now that I trust you
    The vaccine is Covid
    The 1st didn’t do the job
    The 2nd didnt do the job
    Maybe booster no. 3
    Ok maybe 4
    They just announce booster every winter
    It’s booster time
    Works best in chilly weather as we are having now.

    Stop testing, stop everything
    Those who have been jab
    The entire immune system will eventually collapse
    Then of course died with Covid not from Covid

    You all been saying it
    There were hints been dropped here, there

    We all need to take it from here.

    Weird, I will try and move the ‘cloud’ 😀

  3. Anonymous says:

    Does it count as a COVID death if I die of boredom arguing with an anti-vaxxer?

    • Anonymous says:

      Oh pleeease 🙂 … Your not bored if you are commenting on Cns!

    • Anonymous says:

      Have I done enough to show am just a nobody, just playing along and clueless.
      How can someone manipulate the clouds. Yikes
      Note also I am not caymanian, why you getting me involved with countries policies.

    • Anonymous says:

      You have the answer

    • Anonymous says:

      Is the new covid here?

    • Anonymous says:

      Now the jabbed will have to stop eating animal protein to build back the telomeres.
      The longer the telomeres less effective the vaccine virus
      Will the community come together now

    • Anonymous says:

      The jabbed as strengthen the unjabbed
      Now we need to help the jabbed

    • Anonymous says:

      You guys have the answer all along
      I promised to take you to the ‘river’
      Now it’s each one of us responsibility to change ourselves

    • Anonymous says:

      I love this country
      I love the people
      I love the animals
      I love the sun
      Thank you, CNS I am now a higher version of myself.

      I need to move the clouds, well not me.

    • Anonymous says:

      Something is moving with the sun and blocking it, as you have said, ‘over water’.

    • Anonymous says:

      We are not closing the border because of the vaccine.

    • Anonymous says:

      Now you see, we had to stop the opening in September, otherwise, well. It’s unacceptable to live as I said to live with Covid.
      The government should close the border, until the rest of the world rid itself of the virus which is the vaccine.
      As the border should be closed, those who want to leave should be given the opportunity to do so and those who have had the shots after 6 months will be Covid free.
      However, it is up to each of us to decide if we want to travel to a Covid country.

    • Anonymous says:

      Kill us all
      Then replace us with people from Africa.
      Then starting slavery again
      Now if you look at history there is a period where there is no carbon emission.
      History repeating itself
      We would have new kings and queens
      Closed the border we cannot live with Covid.
      Thank you, I will now ask God to get rid of that, which is producing the clouds.

    • Anonymous says:

      I said I have something to prove, I am proving that God exist.
      Now God is intervening itself.

    • Anonymous says:

      This is my working time, from 2am to 6am.
      This is where I talk to God, everything is revealed.
      In the night, whatever is in the sky produces the virus.
      Target, me.

    • Anonymous says:

      Remove face book, insta gram, etc.

    • Anonymous says:

      Encourage people to grow marijuana, it’s a very important medicine. I vaped it

    • Anonymous says:

      We need the sun to help sweat the toxins from the body.

    • Anonymous says:

      Getting vaccinated today

    • Anonymous says:

      Yes. But I am no anti-vaxxer

  4. Anonymous says:

    It wasn’t the bullet, it was the gun- C.I Government

  5. Anonymous says:

    Nothing mentioned on almost a third of countries in the world not recording deaths or births as they lack the systems.

    These are the poorest countries with only around a 15-20% vaccination rate among health care providers.

    These COVID deaths remain unreported, and remain ignored.

    Yet our focus remains on if a man in hospital is stabilized then catches COVID, and rapidly declines until death, is COVID responsible?

    Truly a sad, selfish world we live in

  6. Anonymous says:

    Every COVID fatality in Cayman will be listed as having underlying conditions, 3 so far, 100% record, and more will follow sadly

    A healthy 60 year old may die of COVID, but was born 1 week premature, and the Government will count that as an underlying condition.

    Ever had bronchitis, again it’ll be it wasn’t covid but underlying conditions.

    Its amazing Angels of Mercy ever get charged with murder or assisted suicide if the patient has terminal cancer, as the victim had underlying conditions, so the murderer didn’t kill him the “underlying conditions” did.

    • Anonymous says:

      There are few people in perfect health almost all of us have some sort of ‘underlying condition’. The problem with using such a subjective term is why the figures are so skewed which fuels both the conspiracy group and vaxoholic group at the same time.

  7. Anonymous says:

    I have always believed that Covid deaths were being under reported, but I am now convinced that they are being over reported. If you die and happen to have Covid, you are classified as having died from Covid, and that is ridiculous!

    • Anonymous says:

      What is ridiculous is that people were classed as conspiracy theorists if you mentioned the words “inflated death count”. Now it’s fact and everyone is ok with it?

  8. Anonymous says:

    My Mother had breast cancer which resulted in death. Nowhere on the death certificate was there any mention of cancer. I took this as a positive since insurance companies ask if there is any history of cancer in the family and I could answer no based on the death certificate.

  9. Anonymous says:

    You called it a conspiracy theory and then confirmed the conspiracy theory.

    UKHSA counts all deaths that had a positive covid test result within 28 days as a death. They also report a 0.5% death rate for people under 50, vaccinated and unvaccinated. That death rate includes people who died with and not of covid and hence the rate is overstated. Even at 0.5% covid is only a few times more deadly then regular flu.

    So is it really a conspiracy theory?

  10. Annie says:

    We are not going to sway any anti vax people with actual science. My mother in law keeps sending me this bull crap Facebook conspiracy crap, and I have to remain polite, all the while screaming internally. Jeez, just get over yourselves. Fine if you don’t want a jab. Don’t flipping get one. But stop impeding those of us that want to move on with life.

    • Anonymous says:

      Back at you: We are not going to sway any vaxxoholics with actual science that is being dismissed, ignored and vilified.

      People are not anti-vaxxers. They are anti-mandate and or anti-mRNA jabs.

      • Anonymous says:

        Love this comment, nailed it! I am vaccinated but was very hesitant to get it, I am still not convinced to be honest, but as an elderly person where long term risks don’t really matter I took it. My concerns are;

        mRna First time ever being used on humans
        Drugs companies not standing behind their product securing indemnification
        Not having the choice of having a non mRna even though they are available
        Alternative and available drug therapy not being offered
        Anti body tests not being offered before vaccination
        Injection is non aspirated in the interest of speed. Aspiration is a safety measure to prevent injecting into the bloodstream.

        The division in the community and vilifying of the non vaccinated is just disgusting.

        • Anonymous says:

          As I told you before … a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. All the anti-vaxx jibber jabber is just that: jibber jabber. Instead, everyone things they’re a scientist now and that there’s something to the conspiracy theories. The effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines, particularly the one we’ve got here in Cayman, is well documented. No one is making anyone take it, but if you don’t, you have to contend with the consequences dished out by society and the virus itself. What you’re doing is ultimately irresponsible because some people can be swayed by words even if they are incorrect.

      • Anonymous says:

        and anti-blood transfusions and anti-organ transplant from m-RNA vaccine recipients?

        Good luck mate

  11. Anonymous says:

    Even Boris Johnson is talking about the possibility of another UK lockdown as European cases spiral. #livingwiththevirus

  12. Anonymous says:

    Premier Wayne Panton said the death would be counted in the pandemic-related statistics due to his positive status.

    Death certificates are not signed by the Premier or Minister of Health. Neither are they signed five minutes after a person dies. The cause of death will be known soon enough, although it probably makes little difference to the grieving family.

    In what I hope was an attempt to offer condolences to the family, the Premier ended up making a semi-political/medical statement. Unless you’re in the HSA Doctors WhatsApp Group, the cause of death will not be determined by something passed on to you in a youtube video.

  13. Anonymous says:

    Thank you CNS for firing up the anti-vaxxer campaign once again.

    XXX

    CNS: I’m prepared to defend the analysis but you have to make an effort to read and understand what is written first and not just whine about things I didn’t say. Pay particular attention to paragraph 4. Also note that I am advocating for greater clarity and recording covid deaths according to international WHO guidelines.

    • Anonymous says:

      CNS 👍👍👍

    • You vaccine cheerleaders really need to try and get over yourselves, and start reading more than just hysterical M S M headlines. Not all of the unvaccinated people are anti vax, most of us are critical thinkers and are very sceptical of big Pharma. Have a look at Pfizer’s record for one. Although my guess is you will not. Like most people, you will be more happier in your own ignorance.

      • Anonymous says:

        Critical thinker is hilarious coming from you lot.

      • Anonymous says:

        It’s hilarious that the anti-vaxxers describe themselves as critical thinkers. As not one of the anti vaxxers I know could EVER be described that way and I’m REALLY being kind here. 🤣

      • Anonymous says:

        “very sceptical of big Pharma”

        so you take no drugs produced or developed by the big pharma firms?

        or is it just the vaccine?

    • Anonymous says:

      conspiracy not within cayman borders

  14. Anonymous says:

    Good article. If we were able to somehow separate the true cause of death of people around the world who have been classified as dying FROM Covid, to those dying WITH and FROM, we would probably have a lot less fear regarding this virus.

  15. Anonymous says:

    People may not want to hear it, but COVID has had a material impact on everyone living with an illness over last couple years. It has limited access and availability as well as capacity to deal. Let’s try to accept that these are not normal times and that also matters when it comes to medical outcomes.

  16. Reality says:

    good points, thanks CNS

  17. Anonymous says:

    I am very surprised by this analysis. I thought CNS beliefs are set in stone when it comes to covid. I thought they are biased towards covid and actually promote fear mongering by posting the dumbest comments of frightened to death individuals.

    Well, I was wrong. I totally agree with this analysis.

    As for my personal opinion, if a chronically ill person (cancer, diabetes, CVD, neurological conditions, metabolic conditions) was admitted to a hospital due to symptoms OTHER than Covid, NEVER exhibited covid symptoms, but was tested Covid19 positive upon admission, then died NOT from respiratory failure or other NOT Covid19 symptoms, his death has NOTHINGS to do with Covid19.

    The logic is simple-if no covid symptoms were ever present in covid positive individuals, then how their deaths could be covid related?

    • Anonymous says:

      “Biased towards covid?” 🤔

    • Anonymous says:

      Because without the underlying covid, they might have lived…. It messes with the body in so many ways that, yes, if you have it when you die from something else we need to see if it was like an accelerant to the process – to dumb it down (cause some need it) covid is the gasoline in a housefire caused by a candle….
      Let me spell it out…. Cancer is the candle – one day it might burn the house down. Covid comes along and is like gasoline – or if you prefer a slower burn effect, diesel – but it accelerates the net end result – death/burned down house.
      Without covid, they may have live, with covid, they died. So they died WITH COVID. A COVID-related DEATH.
      Some will still not understand – or they will resist because the koolaid is calling…

      • Anonymous says:

        And how do you know this precicely? Have you studied the deceased person’s medical history? Are you even qualified to do so? I am sure the family will know his medical history better than anyone. How can make such assumptions just to support your narrative?

  18. Anonymous says:

    I thought what Wayne said was perfectly clear. He provided more information than we usually get and I think we can handle it.

    • Tamara says:

      Well this death cements it for me. I am getting my jab on Tuesday.

      This death plus the thought of not taking my child to Disney because his mom watched too many YouTube videos just ain’t good enough.

      This mom is getting the jab.

      • Anonymous says:

        Why didn’t you get jabbed when vaccines were first available in January? Why have you waited so long?

      • Anonymous says:

        You are an idiot.

      • Anonymous says:

        A death that has nothing to do with Covid? Dunderhead

      • Anonymous says:

        Good for you, but why does this particular case prompt you to get the jab, considering the death is completely unrelated to Covid 19?

        • Anonymous says:

          “completely unrelated to Covid 19”

          @9:12am can you explain how you came to you conclusion and your medical background?

          Did you do an autopsy and didn’t tell us?

          • Anonymous says:

            Are you incapable of reading or is it comprehension that gives your difficulty? It has been stated already, even by the premier, his death was unrelated to Covid.

            • Anonymous says:

              Because without the underlying covid, they might have lived…. It messes with the body in so many ways that, yes, if you have it when you die from something else we need to see if it was like an accelerant to the process – to dumb it down (cause some need it) covid is the gasoline in a housefire caused by a candle….
              Let me spell it out…. Cancer is the candle – one day it might burn the house down. Covid comes along and is like gasoline – or if you prefer a slower burn effect, diesel – but it accelerates the net end result – death/burned down house.
              Without covid, they may have live, with covid, they died. So they died WITH COVID. A COVID-related DEATH.
              Some will still not understand – or they will resist because the koolaid is calling…

      • UCS - Unvax Covid Survivor :) says:

        Its your right. So long we continue to respect other people’s rights too. I haven’t had to visit the hospital, and I beat Covid. But what is disappoints me is the PACT government continue to promote fear. I was refused from working out at my gym because of them, which is vital for my immune system. I felt I woukd have got over Covid in less than 5 days if I was regularly working out. It seems like they want people to end up dying in the hospitals! THERE IS NOTHING GOOD I CAN SAY ABOUT THIS GOVERNMENT!

        • Anon says:

          Your immune system will not save you. You can still get sick and die. Please, you are being selfish. Obey and get vaccinated!

          • Anonymous says:

            Roddy Piper lives.

          • Anonymous says:

            So why do we have an immune system again? Please explain its function in the human body. Why do we take vitamins and try to lead the healthiest lifestyle possible if it’s not to keep a healthy immune system and to stay alive? Have you ever had a cold or flu? How many unvaxxed have had COVID and recovered? Have you asked yourself these questions prior to showing us how foolish you really are? But the vaxxed are critical thinkers huh? It must have messed with your brain.

        • Anonymous says:

          UCS – so you feel that while having COVID you should have been allowed to go to the gym, possibly infect who knows how many people, some who may have become seriously ill or died, because that’s what your immune systems demand.

          FFS are you a troll, an ignorant self-absorbed POS, or just a stupid bastard? Or a combination of all of them.

          Please just crawl back into whatever pisshole you crawled out of. Entitled POS.

        • Anonymous says:

          OMG. What school of data analytics did you go to? You can’t extrapolate from a single data point to an entire population, dumbass.

          Ever heard “one swallow does not a summer make”?

          How about “the plural of anecdote is not data”.

          Just because you didn’t die from covid doesn’t mean that no one ever dies from covid.

          On the other hand, nobody claims that everyone who gets covid dies.

          So you have single-handedly disproven something that no one claims or believes. Well done. 👏

      • Anonymous says:

        Thats great to hear. It doesn’t the matter the reason and it will mean you and your family are safer.

    • Anonymous says:

      There was no need at all for such a statement.

  19. Anonymous says:

    More of the Govt trying to fudge and dodge their incompetence and mismanagement….
    This was NOT inevitable at this scale. Look at NZ, Australia etc ..,
    Kids running the country..,.

    • Anonymous says:

      Are we all stupid? This is not a Covid death, yes the man had covid but did not die from it. Stop taking everyone as an idiot and leading the rest with fear like sheep. Your people deserve more.

  20. Anonymous says:

    There are international standard on reporting. We just adhere to those. Keep in mind that having Covid can weaken you considerably making it harder to fight other illnesses. If every jurisdiction in the world used different standards in reporting it would make understanding the pandemic near to impossible.

    • Anonymous says:

      “Covid can weaken you considerably making it harder to fight other illnesses…”

      this is a 🐔chicken and 🥚egg situation

      …other diseases considerably weakened immune system making it harder to fight Covid19

      also, if a chronically ill person was admitted to a hospital due to symptoms other than Covid, never exhibited covid symptoms, but was tested Covid19 positive, then died NOT from respiratory failure or other NOT Covid19 symptoms, seems no brainer to me, his death has nothing to do with Covid19.

    • Anonymous says:

      So you agree that the guy in Italy who was decapitated in a motorcycle accident, and whose blood tested positive for Covid, must have died from Covid? Wake up!!!

  21. Anonymous says:

    Excellent article CNS

    One thing to add, if you listen carefully to the video you can hear Shaggy’s ‘It Wasn’t Me’ playing in the background.

  22. Anonymous says:

    Whether death is “of” or “with” Covid, it remains a fact that the unfortunate person recorded as our first death related to this highly infectious disease in the Cayman Islands was the wake-up call. We narrowly avoided community spread blossoming from Health City at that time. Don’t assume our health services can withstand the assault of the unwitting, uncaring and ill-informed.

    • Anonymous says:

      “ We narrowly avoided community spread blossoming from Health City at that time”

      are you a 🦹‍♂️drama actor?

      In a metabolically healthy body Covid has no chances. Don’t assume every Cayman resident is ill with something. And if it is the case, demand answers from your leaders. My friend, an expat mid 40s, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor after only 3 years residing in Cayman. Since it takes up to 10 years for cancer symptoms to appear, and cancer can slow down or become dormant under the right conditions, hers accelerated in Cayman and killed her in just 9 months.

      Demand CIG to focus on poor health state of Cayman residents, find major causes and start addressing it.

  23. Anonymous says:

    Trying to portray the Covid deaths of people who are elderly or have comorbidities as not Covid deaths is one of the many facades of Covid deniers and the profit before people advocates.

    • Anonymous says:

      First it was assumed that 2 jabs would save elderly. Then a booster was added, still people like 5:50 see only death when they hear the word Covid19.

      As a side note, not sure why it is assumed that relatively healthy elderly exposed to plenty of sun, sea, moderately active would succumb to Covid19. Their conception, years of growth and development were the healthiest, for it was before the industrial revolution. They have a strong core unlike those born after 1970. Industrialization, chemisation, pollution, stress did not reach Cayman for 2 more decades. So it is safe to assume that Cayman was relatively pristine through the late 80s. and its people were healthy.

      Back to the elderly and vulnerable.

      Being elderly does not mean being feeble and frail and catching every virus that is around.

      Granted, elderly living in Care Homes in cramped conditions, seeing no sun and eating green jello ARE vulnerable and in a high risk group for any infection. Still many survive covid or develop no symptoms.

      conditions in which Cayman elderly are living so much different, therefore their risk of catching Covid19 and dying from it is very small. It is also so much easier to protect them.

      We forget that no matter how hard we try to extend lives of our lived ones, they would eventually go. My 84 grandmother was active, independent, healthy in mind and body until the last 2 months of her life. Then everything went downhill and she was gone, as if she decided to check out. The cause of death? No particular diagnosis, she just got weaker and weaker and started to sleep all the time. In her last week she slept all the time. I miss her and am grieving and blame nobody. If it was covid that took her life, I would blame no virus, government or people, for dying is as natural as being born.

  24. Anonymous says:

    There is actually no confusion at all. It is not a Covid death if it detracts from the ‘open at any cost’ narrative.

  25. Anonymous says:

    Premier Panton, I believe, said this elderly man had recurring hospizations , pre existing health conditions, so one can only assume that having covid on top of those conditions would make this man’s health very vulnerable.
    Bless this man and condolence to family/ friends.

  26. Anonymous says:

    This is getting ridiculous. Do you all want to know how many times the patient pissed too? I think the Premier should just have said a patient with Covid died. End of story. The anti-vaxxers and deniers just use this as an excuse and say oh it’s nothing but a common cold and the person had underlying conditions so they would have died anyway. I am sick and tired of the trivializing of this and find the attitude of they had underlying conditions as if to say their death is meaningless. Mr. Premier.. remember one thing the less said the better.

    • Anonymous says:

      You want fear don’t ya?

    • Anonymous says:

      The patient died of underlying health conditions which saw him hospitalised multiple times this year. He was admitted to hospital on Thursday where he tested positive simply because he was tested like everyone else when they are admitted,the results came in on Friday and he passed away on Saturday. If he had died at home we would have never known of his Covid-19 positive status.

    • Ellen Marcher says:

      I am not an antivaxxer. Have had all 3 jabs. But I do think it’s relevant to somehow be able to distinguish between whether the person who died just happened to be Covid positive but died from a different ailment, or if Covid was a major factor in their demise. We now have 3 deaths “from Covid “ on our world record, and from the little that I know,
      it seems that none of the 3 actually died due to their Covid positive statuses. It’s a fine line I know, but I believe it’s worthy of further investigation, not only for the reputation of our country, but our own peace of mind.

      • Annie says:

        My father was in hospice when he passed in 2020. He is counted as a Covid death. He had days left to live, but there are dollars to be made. because that is the plan.

  27. Anonymous says:

    The man apparently died of Cancer not Covid end of. This is the ridiculous recording around the world
    My sympathies to his family an friends

  28. Anonymous says:

    Cases doesn’t matter, why is this information really need? What are we tallying up?
    Focus on hospitalizations.
    Also Sabrina is right, spend time with the family and less on COVID. Hopefully we will have good weather tomorrow.

  29. Anonymous says:

    All over the world people who are elderly or with other diseases have caught covid and died. Their deaths are listed as covid deaths. Why can’t Cayman stop worrying about the covid free status and just mourn the loss of this gentleman. Yes, he had other illnesses, but he also tested positive for covid which by now, we all know can be deadly to these vulnerable people.
    I lost my dad in March 2020 right before covid was known to the general world. He was very ill, but while in the hospital caught a mysterious illness that no one could identify which affected his breathing, put him In ICU and he passed a day later. We are sure it was covid as we were all locked down a week later. He is not listed as dying from covid, but does it matter? We think we know what caused his passing.
    RIP sir and my sincere condolences to his family and friends.

    • Ellen Marcher says:

      Good point. That’s fair. In an earlier post I talked about the fact that anyone who died while they were positive for Covid was automatically listed as a Covid related death, and I questioned that, but in your case, clearly the opposite was true. I need to keep these cases in mind. My condolences to you and your family.

      • Anonymous says:

        Thank you, Ellen.
        Does I it really matter to the family who is mourning? All this back and forth. I know I lost my hero, the person I looked up to most in this world. I don’t care one iota what the bottom line cause was in medical terms.

        Those who are very fragile and vulnerable, who have had recurring hospitalization (most) do not have the strength to also fight off covid.
        Coming up to the holidays, the family will need support & love.

        • Anonymous says:

          you are all assuming that being positive for covid automatically means being deadly for elderly and vulnerable. What if covid positive HAVE NEVER developed covid symptoms? What if it was false positive? What if they are immune to covid?

          • Anonymous says:

            People don’t want to admit these options exist, let alone accept that they can take placd

          • Anonymous says:

            And, you are also assuming an awful lot. Covid and a fragile elderly person is just not a good mix especially if the elderly person already has compromised breathing issues.

  30. Anonymous says:

    One of the rare moments I agree with CNS’s editorializing.

    The video message was absurd on several levels to put it kindly.

  31. Anonymous says:

    Come on people wise up, Wayne is a good man. He is for the people, he needs your support.

  32. Anonymous says:

    Maybe Wayne cannot tell the truth but is trying to get the truth out.

  33. Anonymous says:

    I absolutely agree 100% with this article and was hoping someone would have written it. My first thoughts upon hearing about this third COVID death was that it really was not a COVID death. The premier’s report is so muddled, and it is alarming the community. Three COVID deaths now and all three with patients with serious underlying conditions. Do we really have any COVID deaths in Cayman? The people want answers.

  34. Anonymous says:

    Thank you CNS. This item is absolutely on point.

  35. Anonymous says:

    A lot of words CNS for smoke & mirrors, deflection and convenient narrative illuminating poor leadership. PACT must be trembling in their pants as the first visitors get set to arrive at the end of this week.

  36. Anonymous says:

    PACT speaks from every orifice on every subject. That way they can say they told the people everything they needed to know.

  37. Anonymous says:

    Very informative. Good questions that need clarity.

  38. MackB says:

    Too many questions remain unanswered with these types of video press releases. The Premier at a minimum should have indicated if the COVID-19 virus complicated the treatment of his existing medical conditions or made the medical conditions more severe. He should also have indicated if it was at all possible that COVID-19 contributed to an earlier than anticipated death.

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