Norman Swan apologises for Covid tie to Kimberley Kitching and Shane Warne deaths
ABC health expert Norman Swan has issued an apology after linking the deaths of Kimberley Kitching and cricket legend Shane Warne to Covid-19.
ABC health expert Norman Swan has issued an apology after linking the deaths of Kimberley Kitching and cricket legend Shane Warne to Covid-19.
Senator Kitching died from a suspected heart attack aged 52 in March, days after Warne’s death in Thailand.
Dr Swan on Tuesday morning told ABC News both heart-related deaths likely came as a by-product of Covid infection, despite Senator Kitching having never tested positive to the virus.
“It’s too much of a coincidence that Shane Warne and the Labor senator in Victoria died not long after a Covid infection, and people are reporting sudden death after Covid infection. It’s not benign,” he said
Senator Kitching was being treated for a thyroid condition that aggravated her heart problems in the lead-up to her passing.
Dr Swan has since apologised for attributing the death to Covid, telling news.com.au he had spoken to her husband, Andrew, after making an “error”.
“I’ve personally apologised to Andrew her husband,” he told news.com.au.
“I’ve clearly made an error which I deeply regret. I do recall such reports and have checked with others who did too but that doesn’t excuse my having upset the family.”
Senator Kitching’s family also had no knowledge of her ever coming into contact with Covid.
Warne’s death has also never been linked to Covid, although Dr Swan speculated contracting the virus would have exacerbated underlying heart problems.
“These are two high-profile people,” he told the Daily Mail earlier on Tuesday.
“One of whose death was a complete surprise, and they both had Covid in the background.”
“(There are) lots of risk factors for heart disease, but if he (Warne) was going to get a bit of extra inflammation from Covid, that could have tipped him over the edge.”
Dr Swan cited a joint study by British universities that found the Covid pandemic may have led to an extra 10,500 cases of heart issues in England and Wales, including heart attacks, strokes and blood clots.
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