Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
A 76-year-old British woman in the Calais port queuing to board a ferry to Dover suspected of being infected with the deadly coronavirus after travelling on a bus from Italy has been hospitalised with chest pains amid allegations of a government plot to cover it up.
The OAP was reportedly travelling by bus, according to French newspaper Liberation, when she began experiencing chest pains and she was transferred to the CHU hospital in Lille after her case was flagged as suspicious.
Liberation say that an unnamed police source alerted them to the incident after regional news agencies and the government allegedly dragged their feet about publishing the revelation.
The case was reportedly detected on Sunday around midday, with the unnamed police source alerting Liberation to the incident that very evening.
Firemen were reportedly dispatched from Marck, a commune on the outskirts of Calais in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France, after the 76-year-old woman, who has not been named, reportedly took ill.
Liberation report that she had been travelling on a bus from coronavirus hotspot Italy and that the vehicle was already in a queue to board a ferry to Dover.
Firemen intervened to help her with her chest pain. But in the case of this British patient, the coronavirus security protocol was not not triggered, according to Libertation.
At this point, the coronavirus hypothesis is reportedly not even on the table.
The bus resumed its journey and boarded the Spirit of Britain ferry of the P&O Ferries company, at approximately 3:50pm.
The ship was at sea for about 10 minutes when the port watchman received a call.
At the end of the line, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) inform the port authorities that the hospitalised British OAP actually presents symptoms of coronavirus.
Tests must be carried out in order to remove any doubt. At the harbour master’s office, according to Liberation’s information, it was first believed to be a joke. So much so that the ARS is contacted again for confirmation.
Calais port police are alerted at around 5pm. The ferry is at sea on its way to the UK.
A list of passengers is sent to the ARS. They consider tracking down the passengers later if the patient tests positive.
Liberation contacted the ferry company, and were reportedly told: “A passenger who complained of chest pain was evacuated by ambulance from the port of Calais with suspicion of a heart attack. As a precaution, because the bus on which she was travelling came from Italy, the ARS subsequently decided that this incident should be dealt with in the context of the current public health problem in that country. When they arrived in England, the bus and its passengers were met by the police. After consultation with the health authorities, no further action was taken.”
It is currently unclear if the British OAP has tested positive for coronavirus, now dubbed COVID-19, at the Lille hospital.
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