CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The oldest of 12 residents of the Queen Louise Home for the Aged being treated at Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas has died.
The unnamed 101-year-old woman died Tuesday, the Department of Human Services said.
While she tested positive for COVID-19, the cause of death is still being evaluated. Human Services said once the cause of death is known, it will not be revealed to the public because of a 1996 federal law passed to to protect patient privacy, known as the HIPAA.
Dr. Luis O. Amaro, Interim President of the Schneider Regional Medical Center, cared for the now-deceased patient for many years, until she was 100.
“She was full of personality and spunk,” Dr. Amaro said. “She was a wonderful resident of the home who was a joy to take care of.”
Human Services Commissioner Kimberley Causey-Gomez and all the staff of Queen Louise Home sent their deepest condolences to the dead woman’s family and said that “she will be dearly missed.”
The remaining 11 Queen Louise Home residents who tested positive for COVID-19 are in “relatively good health,” according to Causey-Gomez.
“There are currently 11 residents at the hospital who are positive, ten in good health and one who is being closely watched,” she said.
Those residents who initially tested negative were placed in a non-congregate care setting while the Home was sanitized and is preparing to welcome them again in the safest way possible.
DHS said that it “continues to ask for your prayers for their essential, front line staff and the health our most vulnerable across the territory as we all work to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.”
For more information, please visit the Department of Human Services website, www.dhs.gov.vi or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/usvidhs at US Virgin Islands Department of Human Services.
For more information on COVID-19, the new strain of coronavirus, please visit the USVI Department of Health’s website, www.doh.vi.gov/coronavirus or text COVID19USVI to 888777.