Overnight into Wednesday, Natallya A., a 70-year-old teacher, passed away in a district hospital in the town of Kapyl (Minsk region).
The deceased woman was a resident of the village of Doktaravichy, where the outbreak of COVID-19 was recorded, the Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva reports. According to the media outlet, the information was confirmed by locals and sources close to medical circles.
“She died. The body will be taken to Minsk for cremation,” said residents of Doktaravichy.
On March 30-31, health workers wearing protective suits worked in the villages of Doktaravichy, Novyia Doktaravichy and Vuhly (Kapyl district). The locals were warned against unnecessarily going outside; coronavirus swab tests having been taken from them. Later, some of them were sent to hospitals in Minsk, Barysau and Kapyl.
Natallya A. was among the first patients who were diagnosed with pneumonia and hospitalised. As her condition was critical, the local doctors shied away from transferring her to a hospital in Minsk. The patient was put on the only lung ventilator that was available in the disctrict.
Her family has not made a comment on the situation; the Belarusian authorities have not confirmed another coronavirus death yet.
According to official data, 75-year-old actor Viktar Dashkevich was the first person to have succumbed to COVID-19 in Belarus. Later, a 73-year-old woman infected with the coronavirus died in Vitsebsk.
