Man dies from Covid after being told to leave hospital by anti-vaxxer
A 75-year-old Covid positive man has died, just days after an anti-vaxxer convinced him to leave the hospital despite being in intensive care.
In a shocking video posted to Facebook, Joe McCarron was filmed leaving a hospital in Ireland on Tuesday, after being told the doctors are "going to kill him".
The man, who had been receiving treatment for Covid-19, was struggling to breathe in the video as doctors pleaded with him to stay.
According to the Irish Mirror, he was readmitted to ICU two days after the footage was taken but died on Friday.
Struggling to breathe
The video shows Antonio Mureddu Gravegliu — the leader of the Freedom on the Land Movement — in the hospital, convincing the elderly man to leave against medical advice.
In the footage, Mr McCarron is sitting down and can be heard struggling to breathe.
Mr Gravegliu can be heard telling him to "put your trousers on, my friend. We are going home. You are safe."
A doctor in the background can be heard telling the anti-vaxxer: "You're endangering his life by doing that."
The doctor can then be seen telling Mr McCarron: "You have the right to decide what you want to do, but I don't think what he's saying is right at all.
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"You're barely able to breathe... we want you to stay to help you."
Mr Gravegliu replies: "If you stay here, they're going to f***ing kill you, Joe. These people, they're not going to help you."
"That is my right because you are killing people," Mr Gravegliu tells the doctor, who asks him not to swear.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin reprimanded the actions of Mr Gravegliu and his movement, reminding the public about the seriousness of Covid.
“Certainly, it is outrageous that anyone would, in an ill-informed way, be advising people to leave hospital," he said.
"It endangers that person’s health.”
Protesters claimed he was forced into ICU
Protesters had claimed that Mr McCarron was being forced into the ICU, encouraging him to leave.
Just two days after he left, Mr McCarron suffered severe breathing difficulties. He was rushed back to the hospital and put on a ventilator, but sadly passed away.
Mr McCarron's family had slammed those who helped take him out of the hospital.
According to the The Sun, Ms McCarron's wife Una apologised to hospital staff for what happened and thanked them for their help."
“They did not help Joe’s recovery in any way," a family member said.
"We would encourage everyone to follow proper medical advice.”
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