Coronavirus: When Dr Amgad El-Hawrani died the media went into overdrive
When Dr Amgad El-Hawrani died the media went into overdrive. Dr El-Hawrani, 55, was an NHS ear, nose and throat consultant at Derby and Burton hospitals. He died last night at Leicester Royal Infirmary. He had tested positive for coronavirus Covid-19. Thoughts should be with his loved ones. But big media has a narrative.
Sky News says he “died after testing positive for coronavirus”. No mention is made of any other health concerns Dr El-Hawrani might have suffered. The Independent says: “NHS England has said the 55-year-old was the first front-line worker to die in the fight against Covid-19.” ITV makes the link between his profession and the illness explicit: “Consultant, 55, dies after testing positive for coronavirus.” He was, says the Leicester Mercury, “the first hospital worker to be killed by Covid-19 in this country”. But we do not know how or where he contracted the disease nor if his work was linked to his getting it and dying. Was he tested because he was a hospital patient or a hospital worker? Did he die with the disease or from it? Did work with private patients contribute to his death?
Only the Mirror says the doctor’s efforts in fighting coronavirus contributed to his death. But not one other publication says the same, which is unusual, especially given how when one paper breaks a story the others rush to copy it, as with the tragic case of Chloe Middleton. Says the Mirror:
An NHS consultant who contracted coronavirus while on the frontlines of the battle against the virus has died in hospital at the age of just 55.
These are worrying times for NHS workers and all medial professional whose jobs bring them into contact with very ill people. Some circumspection is required if anxiety is not to spread.
Oh, and according to the NHS, it is Dr Amgad El Hawrani nor Amged, as every single mainstream newspaper’s website reported it as:
Such are the facts…
Posted: 29th, March 2020 | In: News Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
