Pensioner dies waiting for coronavirus test

Nursing home patient ‘appeared to be deceased’ after wait at testing centre, officials say

A 71-year-old man who awaited a coronavirus test in Utah was discovered dead whilst in line, according to US media reports.

The nursing home patient died on Sunday at an Intermountain Healthcare testing centre in North Ogden, Utah, as he waited to be tested.

Intermountain said in a statement to KUTV, a Sinclair Group CBS affiliate, that the man was driven to the Ogden testing site by a caretaker from Mountain View Health Services, an independent nursing home.

“When the nursing facility’s van reached the testing tent after less than a 45-minute wait, their patient was unresponsive, cold to the touch, and appeared to be deceased,” the statement said.

“Testing centre caregivers acted quickly and followed correct procedures by immediately calling 911, but EMS workers could not revive the individual,” Intermountain added.

The cause of the man’s death is not yet known.

In a statement, North View Fire District said the 71-year-old man was discovered in “cardiac respiratory arrest” and could not be revived, according to Fox13 News.

“Cardiac respiratory arrest can be caused by a variety of medical reasons, including a heart attack or complications from Covid-19,” said deputy chief Jermiah Jones to the news station.

“Our job is to just treat the symptoms that we see and the signs that we see. We don’t make any diagnosis.”

North Ogden mayor Neal Burbe told Fox13 that “we probably shouldn’t jump to conclusions” on the man’s death until an autopsy was conducted.

He added that the nursing home patient was believed to have been awaiting surgery when he sought a test on Sunday.

“People are fearful,” said Mr Berube. “They want to know, and they want to get quick results. So they’re faced with two things, right? They’re faced with waiting in a line that could be several hours.”

Some 24,000 people have contracted Covid-19 in Utah, and more than 180 have died since the pandemic started, according to John Hopkins University data.