Public Health reviewing latest COVID-positive death at Saint John nursing home
Review follows decision to reclassify Joan Davis's death COVID-related
Public Health is reviewing the death of another Saint John nursing home resident who tested positive for COVID-19 during the ongoing outbreak.
It comes after the family of a woman who died last week at the Shannex Tucker Hall nursing home won their fight to have her death deemed COVID-related.
Joan Davis, 79, a resident of the Lily Court dementia unit, died last Thursday, 16 days after testing positive for the respiratory disease.
Her cause of death was originally listed as stomach cancer. But after the family publicly questioned the decision, Public Health reviewed her case and on Wednesday reclassified her death as COVID-related.
Public Health spokesperson Bruce Macfarlane confirmed Friday the most recent death at Tucker Hall, announced by Shannex on Wednesday night, is under review.
Later Friday, during the COVID briefing, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell announced Public Health is reviewing the death "to determine if it is a result of COVID-19."
When asked what prompted the review and whether the deaths of any other long-term care residents who tested positive for COVID-19 are going to be reviewed, Russell replied: "The same process is used for each of the deaths.
"There's really no difference from one case to the other. The process is the same. So there's no other review happening. It's just that one."
Earlier this week, Russell said the decision about whether to deem a death COVID-related is "a team effort between the attending physicians as well as Public Health."
"Sometimes these decisions and discussions take time," she had said.
Public Health has never announced a review of a death before.
Friday marked one year since Public Health held its first news conference about COVID-19. New Brunswick has now recorded 17 deaths since the pandemic hit the province in March.
That includes a new death reported on Friday. A person in their 80s, who was a resident of Manoir Belle Vue, a nursing home in Edmundston, Zone 4, died on Thursday.
Our reporting of this information is not a comment on the status of the resident's illness or their cause of death.- Shannex
When asked for comment, Shannex spokesperson Isabelle Landry simply reiterated, "The cause of death is determined by the attending physician in collaboration with Public Health."
The resident died Tuesday, but their death has not been announced by Public Health as being COVID-related or non-COVID-related.
It's unclear if the resident is reflected on the New Brunswick COVID-19 dashboard,
If a person who tests positive for COVID-19 recovers from the disease and later dies from something else, they are included in the recovered category, the Public Health spokesperson previously said. A person is considered recovered 14 days after testing positive, Bruce Macfarlane said.
International studies and interviews CBC has conducted with front-line doctors suggest average recovery takes about two weeks for typical mild cases and a month or more for severe ones.
No details about criteria used
Asked Friday about the criteria and guidance under which Public Health is certifying deaths as COVID-related, Russell said New Brunswick "follows the guidance from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the expert medical opinions to determine the cause of death for COVID-19 cases."
She did not provide any other details.
Russell previously said some of the issues reviewed during these "complex" discussions would include the timeline between when the person tested positive and their death, whether they had symptoms, and whether those symptoms were exacerbating pre-existing underlying medical conditions.
The Shannex news release does not indicate whether the resident died from COVID-19.
"One of our beloved residents who had tested positive for COVID-19 has passed away," the release states.
"We are sharing this news following conversations and with the permission of the resident's family to honour their life and because they were a member of our Lily Court community during this difficult time.
"Our reporting of this information is not a comment on the status of the resident's illness or their cause of death."
Seven COVID-positive resident deaths have been reported since the outbreak was declared at the 90-bed nursing home in the city's north end on Nov. 20 and resurged on Jan. 5.
As of the last update Wednesday night, one resident and two employees still have active cases of COVID-19.