23-year-old woman - youngest COVID-19 victim - late in getting to hospital

The youngest victim of COVID-19 in the country, a 23-year-old woman, has been reported to be late in seeking treatment in hospital.

Health Director-General, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, said the condition of the patient who also had thyroid disease was already at the critical stage – stage four.

"So, today we have the youngest death, aged 23 and in need of respiratory help. However, it must be remembered that the patient has thyroid and she was late in getting treatment in hospital.

"As I have said, 88 per cent of patients who come (to hospital) are in categories 1 and 2. However, this patient came to hospital at stage four.

"So, she needed respiratory help, ventilator and the patient came with other ailments," he said at a press conference here Thursday.

The 67th death case (patient case 2864) has a history of close contact with two COVID-19 positive cases (the 2424th and 2470th cases) and is the 5th generation case of a church conference cluster in Kuching, Sarawak (she was not a participant in the conference).

She was hospitalized at the Sarawak General Hospital on March 30, 2020 and was pronounced dead on April 9, 2020 at 9.42 am.