The public health unit in Chatham-Kent has reduced the number of deaths linked to COVID-19 back to three.
Medical officials said on Thursday that it had become apparent that the latest recorded death on Tuesday, may not have been a result of COVID-19.
In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, Jeff Moco with CK Public Health said, "after more information became available we can confirm the cause of death was not related to COVID-19 and thus the reduction in total cases from four to three in today’s status report."
The patient died in University Hospital in London, which is currently experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak.
The patient's step-daughter Tammy Savage told Blackburn News she couldn't believe that the information had been reported incorrectly by the health unit. Savage said her step-dad was admitted to University Hospital in London on October 24 and was diagnosed with a blood cancer that attacks the heart of men over 70. He tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and passed away on Monday.
"I had my friends contact me on Facebook, on the phone, on messenger saying this is ridiculous. They're saying your dad died of COVID and I'm like what?" said Savage. "They said it was airborne and at the time we didn't even know there was an infection [outbreak] of COVID in the hospital. They never told us, we just took our precautions as if there might be."
Savage said a palliative doctor told her that her dad's cough was an end-of-life cough and not the virus.
"My dad was given one to 10 days to live. He was on day 14. He was fighting hard to live and 8.5 hours after being put on the COVID floor, he passed away," Savage said.
Savage and her mother have also contracted COVID-19 and she said she believes they caught it in the hospital.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby told reporters Thursday morning that he was having difficulty getting solid information about this case and admitted he wasn't certain the patient died of COVID-19. He said at the time there was reason to believe the virus may not have caused the death. The local health unit also clarified what is reported in terms of death.
"The number of deaths include cases where COVID-19 was the immediate cause of death or directly related to the immediate cause of death," read the statement. "People with COVID-19 who have died from non-COVID-19 related causes are captured in the resolved category at the top of the report."
Three new positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in Chatham-Kent by the health unit on Thursday. A total of 518 cases of the virus have been reported in the municipality since the beginning of the pandemic, and there are currently 36 active cases.
