An Irish man who was persuaded to leave hospital by anti-vaccination sceptics has died of COVID-19.
Gardaí, the Irish Police, are now investigating the incident in which Joe McCarron, 75, left Letterkenny University Hospital against medical advice.
He had been in intensive care after catching coronavirus, with protesters claiming he had been forced into the ICU.
A week later he was rushed back into the hospital with severe breathing difficulties. He was put on a ventilator but deteriorated and died on Saturday, NZ time.
In a video posted to social media by the protesters who took him home, a man identified as Antonio Mureddu Gravegliu told the frail McCarron "It's better if you die in the house than dying here."
A doctor had repeatedly tried to warn that removing McCarron from the hospital was endangering his life.
Italian Gravegliu identifies as a Freeman of the Land, a group of people who believe laws only apply to them if they consent and therefore are above those laws. It's similar to the sovereign citizen movement in the US.
Before the man's tragic death, his removal from hospital had been widely condemned, with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin branding it 'outrageous'.
"If you get it [COVID-19], you should treat it as very serious," he said at the time.
"Certainly, it is outrageous that anyone would, in an ill-informed way, be advising people to leave hospital. It endangers that person’s health."
McCarron's family has slammed those who removed him from the hospital while he was vulnerable, with a spokesperson branding it "reckless".
"Una [McCarron's widow] would like to thank the staff and apologise for the actions of Joe’s so-called reckless friends earlier in the week.
“They did not help Joe’s recovery in any way."
Meanwhile the Gardaí in Donegal, where the hospital is located, have been advised to be careful when dealing with Mureddu, the Irish Times reported.
Officers have been warned about the potential for him to pass on COVID-19 because of his behaviour, with at least one similar incident in the same hospital in the last few weeks.
