And while there are concerns for those children's wellbeing, the
elderly are among the most vulnerable to COVID 19, and that was
underscored yesterday with COVID death number 5, a 74-year-old wife,
mother, and grandmother from Hope Creek named Iris Barillas.
Barillas contracted COVID-19 while being treated for an ear condition
at Belmopan Medical Centre. It's a nightmare scenario and just the type
the family was trying to avoid by seeking private medical care.
It's left them with a deceased matriarch and five confirmed cases
within their household. And this afternoon we heard more about their
ordeal from a family friend who went above and beyond for the family
during Barilla's final days.
Jenine Jones - Family Friend
"Miss Iris was basically the matriarch of her family, she had four children
they were all boys of which four of them are deceased she has one of her
sons when he died she adopted his daughter which is her granddaughter who
became her daughter, who she loved dearly. Miss Iris was a teacher but she
became a housewife to raise her children. Pretty much she's been deaf all
her life like in one year and up until recently she had wax build-up and
she was getting deaf in the other ear and she also suffered from Vertigo
which meant that she would get nauseous and dizzy and she didn't tell
anybody of this condition and of late she decided to share it with someone
and she finally told her granddaughter. Her granddaughter had already
scheduled an appointment at the doctor for her granddad and so she decided
that she would take both of them to the doctor."
Cherisse Halsall
"It must really strike the family that you know."
Jenine Jones
"Thinking that you will be safe there. Her visit there was July 30th which
would have been a Thursday, she ran the tests. They did the tests and the
next day the result came back and that's when we found out there's nothing
you can do. The day she was rushed to Karl Heusner sat in the car and
cried. I will not condemn the public system and yes I really think really
had a good experience. For now, there are 5 more positives in the household
and two came back negative extremely good days and extremely bad days some
full recoveries."
Jones also expressed her thanks for the doctors of the Western Regional
and Karl Heusner Memorial hospitals who she says did everything within
their power to save her friend's life.
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