Overseas now counts its victims. A first death related to the coronavirus was recorded Sunday March 29 on the island of Saint-Martin, in the Antilles. The news was announced by the prefecture, the Regional Health Agency of Guadeloupe and the management of the local hospital.
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The 61-year-old patient died Thursday, March 26, but tests revealed Friday that he had the coronavirus. The man had presented respiratory distress at his home on Wednesday, " a week after a road accident that resulted in a trauma, " authorities said in a statement.
" The additional examinations have revealed a range of comorbidities complicated by the after-effects of the trauma, " said the authorities. " Death is multifactorial, but Covid-19 infection was most likely a determining factor ."
The community of Saint-Martin currently has 18 proven cases of coronavirus, including 9 hospitalized and two cured, for a population of less than 35,000 inhabitants. Like all Overseas, Saint-Martin is subject to containment and air restrictions.
It was in Saint-Martin and on the neighboring island of Saint-Barthélemy that the first cases of coronavirus were detected in the Overseas Territories, on March 1. To date, more than 600 cases of coronavirus patients have been recorded in the French overseas departments, and seven deaths have been recorded.