First Covid-19 death in Gibraltar since March

Officials in Gibraltar have confirmed the territory’s first Covid-19 death since March. The man who died was in his 60s and unvaccinated, according to the territory’s chief minister.

“It is deeply upsetting to announce a death from Covid-19 after so many months,” chief minister Fabian Picardo said in a statement. He described the news as a “harrowing reminder that the pandemic is still not over and this deadly virus is still all around us.”

In early April the British overseas territory became one of the first places in the world where every adult over the age of 16 had been offered a vaccine.

Gibraltar currently has 290 active coronavirus cases, including 10 that were detected among visitors to the territory, while hospitalisations linked to the virus have climbed to 14 in recent weeks.

Picardo urged any resident that had not been vaccinated to contact health authorities immediately. “The incidence of Covid-19 related deaths in those who are vaccinated is much lower than those who are not,” he said.

Photo: (FILE) – British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. EPA-EFE/ANDRES CARRASCO RAGEL