Photo via Marko Mitrov/Facebook
September 30, 2021, 10:28 am
A 75-year-old man in Ireland has died of COVID-19 10 days after an Italian anti-vaxxer convinced him to leave the hospital, where he had been admitted for severe, life-threatening symptoms, against medical advice.
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Joe McCarron quickly deteriorated without appropriate medical treatment and returned to the hospital two days after leaving, but by that point, it was too late to save him.
The man responsible for this, Antonio Mureddu Gravegliu, is reportedly a member of the freeman-on-the-land (FOTL) movement which believes they are only subject to the laws that they personally consent to and can declare themselves to be independent of the government. He filmed himself going to the hospital and convincing McCarron to leave as a healthcare worker pleads with them to reconsider, warning that the elderly man is barely able to breathe on his own.
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“You have the right to decide what you want to do, but I don’t think what he is saying is right, at all,” says the hospital employee. “You’re barely able to breathe now. We want you to stay to help you.”
Gravegliu, however, insists that it’s the hospital that is the problem. “If you stay here, they’re going to f—ing kill you, Joe,” he says, mask down over his chin.
The medic ignores this wild accusation and continues to plead with his patient.
“I’m very worried about you and I want you to stay. I think he’s saying something very dangerous. What he’s saying is wrong and very dangerous and I think he’s endangering your life,” he says. “I’m not lying to you, you could die.”
Gravegliu accuses the hospital workers of lying, saying that McCarron’s oxygen saturation levels are at 97 percent. Of course, this was due to treatments such as supplemental oxygen that were given to him by the hospital, which rapidly became apparent after he left.
When the healthcare worker tells Gravegliu he’s endandering McCarron’s life, the anti-vaxxer seems to change his tune a bit and admit that his supposed friend is going to die.
“It’s better if he dies in the house than die in here. He’s going to die with us.”
Gravegliu was unfortunately partially correct in his assessment, only McCarron still died in the hospital after returning. The man who kept calling McCarron “friend” claims that the 75-year-old contacted him via Telegram and asked him to assist him in leaving the hospital. The elderly man barely speaks in the video and appears to be breathing hard while sitting in his wheelchair.
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According to Insider, Gravegliu is a far-right anti-vaccine and anti-mask activist and has attempted to travel without either across national borders. He’s also a vocal supporter of the nationalist Lega Nord party in Italy, which is against accepting immigrants from nations not dominated by white Christians and claims that it’s white Christians who are the victims of racial discrimination and xenophobia.
McCarron is survived by his wife, who issued an apology to the hospital staff for the actions of Gravegliu and his cohorts.
“Una would like to thank the staff and apologize for the actions of Joe’s so-called reckless friends earlier in the week,” said a family spokesperson. “They did not help Joe’s recovery in any way. We would encourage everyone to follow proper medical advice.”
*First Published: September 30, 2021, 10:28 am
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