Jermaine Ifill, who died on Tuesday from the COVID-19 virus, got no response from the state hotline after reporting his symptoms and made several attempts to acquire a non-rebreather mask and an oxygen tank while in institutional isolation just prior to his death.
A non-rebreather mask enables the delivery of high concentrations of oxygen and is recommended for use in patients who are critically ill. The non-rebreather mask Ifill utilised was reportedly one for a child.
The reason for him seeking an oxygen tank was not clear and Chief Executive Officer of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), George Lewis, declined to speak when contacted yesterday by Stabroek News. Attempts to contact other health officials were unsuccessful.
Ifill, 38, died on Tuesday around 9:30am at an isolation facility after attempts by the medical team to resuscitate him failed. He had tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed in the isolation facility’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after he developed breathing difficulties. Ifill was the Executive Director of the Reliance HealthCare, which has been closed since he began feeling ill.
According to Ifill’s sister, Kmar, the 38-year-old developed COVID-19 symptoms more than two weeks ago. However, because he had been diagnosed with pneumonia in the past, he was more prone to diseases like the flu and the common cold, which made his family brush aside the possibility of COVID-19. She added that their mother cautioned her against visiting her brother’s home, which he shared with his pregnant wife and one-year-old child, because Ifill indicated that something was not right.
“I used to hardly go over there because prior to when he became ill, he had fever and had this cough, and this was two weeks prior so my mom had [messaged] me and said that I have kids so she told me don’t come over and keep you kids home because my brother ain’t feeling well but we thought is the normal flu; cold was going around because in December time he had the same feelings. Last year, he had this cold for long because I think he does trouble with pneumonia and dry cough so you know nobody tek it serious but only he know how he was feeling. He is a healthcare worker, he ain’t must know when something wrong with he body so after that he start doing his research and start looking up on the virus,” she said.
However, it was only last week that the symptoms worsened. Kmar noted that although Ifill was feverish and was coughing before that, he did not develop any severe symptoms. However, early last week, Ifill began having difficulty breathing and was feeling weak.
It was then that he decided to call the COVID-19 hotline. He described his symptoms to the operator but was not given a response. He called twice after and was told that a response team would be sent to his home but no one visited him nor did he receive any explanation as to why the team did not go to his home.
Pneumonia
Eventually, on March 25th, Ifill decided to go to the GPH, where his wife is employed. He underwent a series of tests and on the same date, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. “I told his wife to tell them to do a [coronavirus] test because the way he was breathing ain’t look normal,” the relative recalled, before adding that Ifill spent one day in the hospital before he was tested for COVID-19.
“On Thursday afternoon [March 26th], I went to carry soup for him but when I reached at the hospital, he was asleep and I didn’t want to bother him so I just placed the soup next to him and left,” Kmar said. She recalled that his wife called her last Friday and told her that Ifill was tested for COVID-19 and was moved to the isolation facility, where he was awaiting the result. On Saturday, Ifill’s wife called her and informed that the test result was positive for COVID-19, Kmar recalled.
From then on, she kept in contact with her brother via cellphone. Kmar said that every time she spoke with him and asked about his condition, he would tell her that he was ok or he was doing fine and would complain that he never receives the items he asks her to bring until late in the evening. She said that her brother usually asks her to bring him local juices but she was shocked when he requested an oxygen tank.
“I don’t know what they really doing with him in there because I can’t understand how he is in a hospital where everything is and he gotta be asking people outside to get those kind of stuff to carry in to him,” she stated.
The night before Ifill’s death, Kmar said, she spoke to him and he told her that he was feeling much better and was recovering. “He said he was coming around, he just gotta regulate his breathing but he was feeling better but I don’t know, I don’t know,” she managed to say, before breaking off into a prolonged silence.
After a while, Kmar added that her brother called her around 2 to 3 am on Tuesday and told her that he needed a non-rebreather mask urgently because the one he was given is for a child. “My brother had woke me up yesterday morning [Tuesday] after two going on to three [o clock] telling me that he need masks now, and I was like, ‘Where I gon find mask now?’ I tell he, ‘ok, calm down, just now is morning, place gon open up and I gon come out and try to get the mask’ but I…” she recalled as she struggled to contain her emotions.
“He wanted an oxygen tank, you know, the little ones that you can move around with and yesterday morning, I finally get the tank now to carry for he, I got the news that he pass away at 09:30 hours,” she added.
Further, Kmar revealed, she was not the only person he had contacted around that time asking for an adult non-rebreather mask. She said he told her that the mask he was given was for a child and it was suffocating him.
“It seems like he wasn’t treated well. He wanted the mask; I can’t understand why a big corporation like that doesn’t have the non-rebreather mask to give to him. He sent a picture to his friend. He begging for help, he needed the mask. It is around that time he does usually have difficulty breathing and he does gotta put on the little mask. He said that it is the right mask but it was too small. He needed the adult one and I mean the doctors in there, they ain’t see that? He has to look elsewhere to get help and there are doctors and nurses that supposed to be there. Look at how much hours they had to help him because he passed away at 9:30 yesterday [Tuesday] morning. Look at the time span, that is like nine hours or eight hours. They had ample time to get him a mask so [what happened]? They ain’t get masks in there and he gotta be reaching out to people and begging for help,” Kmar said.
“They said that he died from COVID-19; he didn’t die from the virus. He was getting better. Is the breathing was the problem, he had mask and he said that it was suffocating him because it’s too small. Because he is a health care worker, he knew what he needed. Is it because of the virus that they don’t want to attend to him and left him to punish like that?” she questioned.
Ifill’s case would appear to be one of those where a ventilator was needed.
Shock
Subsequent to Ifill’s diagnosis, Kmar revealed, his wife was tested for the disease and her result also returned positive and she has since been placed at an isolation facility. According to Kmar, her brother’s wife is five or six months pregnant but as of yesterday morning, she had shown no symptoms of COVID-19. She added that she does not know if the child, who is currently in the care of his grandmother, will be tested.
“So far, all they [health officials] told us is that they were going to go back to the house and spray but nobody returned back to the house as yet to do anything but the baby is doing fine. He is jolly and bouncing around. Everything is just ok with him,” she revealed.
Meanwhile, Kmar said that nobody knows the circumstances under which Ifill got infected with COVID-19. She noted that as the owner of Reliance HealthCare, he travelled a lot and before becoming ill, he had travelled to regions Three and Two to work.
Additionally, she stated that people in Guyana need to take COVID-19 seriously. “It really hurts when it hit home and my brother was so careful. He was sanitising everything. He was a clean and neat freak. Nobody could go around he baby and do this until they sanitise they hands and it really come as a shock that this,” she managed to say as she once again struggled to contain her emotions.
