Noel Sinkiat

Noel Sinkiat, 64, planned to retire in December after 41 years working as a nurse at Howard University Hospital. He would finally go on a long motorcycle trip with his friends.

On March 27 he died of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to his family. Sinkiat was the first member of National Nurses United, which represents about 150,000 health-care workers nationwide, to succumb to the virus, the union said.

“It was so fast,” his wife, Lourdes Gerardo, said.

As he was hospitalized at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center near their house in Olney, Md., Sinkiat’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Gerardo was able to see him only briefly, from behind a protective suit. Since her husband’s death, Gerardo has tested positive, so she could not pick up his body from the hospital or gather with anyone to mourn his death.

The couple had returned in late February from a trip to the Philippines for Gerardo’s high school reunion. She is grateful that her husband was able to see his sister and nieces and nephews there before his death. He went back to work at Howard in the surgical intensive care unit.

Sinkiat worked his regular 12-hour shift on March 12, Gerardo said. But he had begun experiencing flu-like symptoms, so after work he went to an urgent care facility and was tested for the flu and for the coronavirus, she said. He did not return to work.

“Then he felt better; he has seasonal allergies, so at first we thought it was just the allergies,” she said. “But he started to feel worse again.” He couldn’t eat or drink. On the evening of March 27, she took him to the hospital. Within an hour, she said, the doctors had to intubate him; then his heart failed, and they could not resuscitate him.

The test confirming his diagnosis did not come back until after his death.

“I got better,” Gerardo said. “But he didn’t.”

Howard University Hospital said it could not confirm Sinkiat died of covid-19. The hospital did not respond to questions about what, if any, steps were taken to test or quarantine staff and patients who had contact with Sinkiat.

Washington Post