My father died in isolation – Maltese Man who lost his father to coronavirus

A Maltese man who lost his father to coronavirus in a matter of hours is ruing the fact that he could not even bid him farewell.

The 84-year-old was among 20 who tested positive to COVID-19 on Friday. Hours later his 60-year-old son received the traumatic phone call from Mater Dei Hospital: his father had become the third victim of the virus in Malta.

Keith Micallef reports the man’s son saying “My father’s burial took place less than six hours after his death.”

The man, who spoke to Times of Malta on condition of anonymity, shared his harrowing experience as he is forced to stay in quarantine together with his family as a precaution.

Stunned by the rapid deterioration of his father, the man said he had not yet come to terms with the dark reality.

“When my father was admitted to hospital due to respiratory problems, it never crossed my mind it would be the last time I would see him,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the only person present was the parish priest,” he said.

Their grief was augmented by the fact that for health reasons, burials of COVID-19 victims are being speeded up. “Our biggest regret is that he could not count on our support during his final hours as he died alone in complete isolation. This is the cruellest aspect of this virus,” he said.

Read more on the Sunday Times

Another story in the paper reveals that VGH frontmen Ram Tumuluri and Mark Pawley are still receiving ‘settlement’ money for their stint running Malta’s privatised hospitals. The paper says that a final payment will be made in February 2021.