Deryck Jaisingh, who died on Monday from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), made numerous attempts to contact the COVID-19 hotline to report the severity of his symptoms but never got any response until 11 days later, when his condition had significantly worsened.
According to Jaisingh’s sister, Tiffany Newton, the businessman/miner developed severe COVID-19 symptoms on March 21st. “He had coughing, head-ache, stomach pains and wasn’t breathing properly,” she noted, before adding that those symptoms were so severe that he could no longer work and although his condition seemed serious enough, it worsened as the days went by.
Newton further noted that his family suspected that he might have the dreaded respiratory disease as one of his friends had informed him that he had tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, when Jaisingh fell ill, his wife isolated him to protect their child and they tried calling the COVID-19 hotline but were unsuccessful.
Eventually, Newton stated, they decided to take him to a private hospital, where a doctor conducted several tests on him including a malaria test. She noted that he sells machinery parts and had a lot of clients in the mining areas so he travelled to those areas frequently adding that the last place that he went before he became ill was Lethem so there might have been a possibility that he had gotten malaria.
However, all the test results came back negative and the doctor opined that Jaisingh might have the coronavirus. “The doctor told him that he suspect is the coronavirus so when he went back he started calling the hotline but never got any response but (he) continued to do so,” she said, however, no health official made any attempt to contact him.
In the meantime, Jaisingh’s condition continued to deteriorate but according to Newton, no one was sent to check on him until April 1st, when he was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation while health care workers sanitized the family’s home.
After he was admitted to the hospital, Newton said, they hardly ever spoke to Jaisingh because of his condition. “We only spoke to him a few times but he was weak and sometimes he say he could not even answer his phone”, she stated, before adding that his condition was so bad he had to be placed on a ventilator.
Further, Newton reveal-ed that the day before he died, he called to say that he was taken off the ventilator and that he was feeling better. However, on Tuesday night, they received a call about 7:30 p.m. from a health official saying that he had died “about 15 minutes ago because he couldn’t breathe.”
She said that when the health care workers realized that he was still having difficulty breathing, they tried to place him back on the ventilator but it was too late.
Meanwhile, Jaisingh’s daughter, Melissa, said that she was never aware of her father’s condition until, he was admitted to the hospital. When she heard from an uncle that Jaisingh had tested positive for COVID-19, she said, she made numerous attempts to contact him but he never answered his phone.
She said that when she heard about his illness, she called her grandmother, who told her that he made numerous attempts to call the hotline but never got through. According to her grandmother, she said, his condition was so bad that as soon as health authorities reached Jaisingh’s home they gave him a non-rebreather mask (a device used in the delivery of oxygen) to help him breathe.
Jaisingh, also known as ‘Mad Dog’, was a 38-year-old businessman. He resided with his wife and 7-year-old child on the East Bank. Both are in quarantine but are not showing any symptoms of the respiratory disease.
He was a drag racing champion and the owner of Deryck Jaisingh Trucking Service and Machinery Rentals.
Drastically
Jaisingh’s life changed drastically with the death of his father when he was only four years old. The death of his father resulted in his family being left homeless for a while until their aunt took them in. He attended primary school but dropped out when he was 10 and he became a miner.
According to Newton although he never attended high school, he was very smart and worked very hard to earn an honest living. She said Jaisingh worked as a sailor, fisherman, farmer, hunter, driver, wood cutter, gold miner and eventually became a successful businessman.
In a Facebook post, Newton wrote, “Deryck you were a wonderful brother, father, husband, son and friend. Deryck u had upheld so many responsibilities, you helped all your families , you help with feeding the orphanages , you gave to those in need of shelter, u fed the poor, u donated so much to the little school children and you were providing the best for your workers.”
On Tuesday night, Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence, confirmed that Jaisingh was the fifth person to die as a result of COVID-19.
“The ministry and the government plead with all Guyanese to intensify efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 by zealously practising social distancing, by staying at home and by regularly and thoroughly washing hands”, the Department of Public Information said.
Four others have since died from COVID-19. They were identified as 52-year-old Ratna Baboolall, 38-year-old Jermaine Ifill, 78-year-old Osa Collins and 59-year-old Shadrach Stoll. There are now 33 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Guyana.
