Saudi 2-Year-Old Infant Dies After COVID-19 Swab Test... "Swab Fragment Blocked Airway"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] According to Al Arabiya broadcast on the 15th (local time), a 2-year-old infant in Saudi Arabia died after a swab inserted into the nose for a COVID-19 test broke and blocked the airway.

According to the broadcast, the deceased child's uncle, Mosaed Aljufan, said, "My nephew had no underlying conditions but developed a fever on the afternoon of the 10th, so we took him to the hospital," adding, "The doctor conducted a COVID-19 test despite no symptoms other than high fever." According to his claim, the swab inserted into the infant's nose to collect the specimen broke, and the doctor completed surgery to remove the broken swab piece around 1 a.m. on the 11th.

He said that afterward, he asked the medical staff to confirm whether the swab piece had been completely removed, but the doctor ignored the request, citing being off duty. Around 9 a.m. on the 11th, the child lost consciousness and stopped breathing. Although the hospital performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the child ultimately passed away.

Aljufan claimed, "An X-ray revealed that the airway was blocked," and "We tried to transfer my nephew to a large hospital as his condition worsened, but the ambulance did not arrive for over an hour, so he could not be transferred and died." The Saudi Ministry of Health stated that they will investigate the cause of death considering various possibilities, such as whether the swab piece remained in the nose blocking the airway after surgery and whether there were any issues during anesthesia.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.