The Ministry of Health and Wellness has reported that over the last three weeks, the Coroner’s Office carried out coronavirus (COVID-19) testing on people who had died suddenly or unnaturally in the community, before being tested or accessing appropriate care.
The results revealed an additional 11 people who had died with COVID-19. The total number of deaths related to COVID-19, therefore, as at Tuesday, May 31, 2022, now stands at 461.
According to a media release from Barbados Government Information Service, the policy of the Coroner’s Office is to rule out COVID-19 as the likely cause of death since autopsies cannot be performed on people who are known to have died from or with COVID-19.
It must be noted, however, that in all cases the primary cause of death may not have been COVID-19 but this diagnosis was found at the time of death.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness is seeking to provide the public of Barbados with accurate information as it relates to COVID-19.
Minister of Health and Wellness, Ian Gooding-Edghill, has extended condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. (BGIS)