Late Gang of Four leader Andy Gill may have been a victim of COVID-19, according to his widow Catherine Mayer.
The author/activist recently took to her website to pen a lengthy post about her husband, who died on February 1 in hospital. He had recently returned from a tour in Asia with Gang of Four in November 2019, and Gill was admitted into hospital in January in London after developing what was simply called "respiratory illness."
His death was later officially listed as pneumonia and organ failure, with much of the world still ignoring the fact that COVID-19 was already spreading far beyond the borders of the original hotspot of Wuhan, China.
As Mayer writes, Gill had suffered from multiple COVID-19 symptoms, including low oxygen, lethargy and diminished appetite.
"Andy thought it unlikely he had come into contact with [coronavirus]," she writes, saying that U.K. doctors had asked Gill whether he travelled to Wuhan. However, while Gill had not specifically travelled to Wuhan with the band, "Gang of Four's tour had taken the band only to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou," Mayer writes.
Mayer then explains that Gang of Four's tour manager also suffered from "respiratory distress," with doctors stating they believed it was caused by COVID-19.
Mayer goes on to explain that one of the doctors who treated Gill later stated: "Once we learned more about COVID-19, I thought there was a real possibility that Andy had been infected by SARS-COV-2 ."
According to Mayer, the medical team did not find traces of COVID-19 when they ran tests, but they told her that this still did not mean it was any sort of definitive answer that the virus had not claimed his life.
"This is not, the specialist explained, a definitive answer. By the time of Andy's admission into hospital, he had been ill for weeks," she writes. "The virus could have already left his body, but triggered immune complications." Mayer added, "We may never find out whether COVID-19 killed Andy, yet I will always know, in indelible detail, how he died. I will always know, intimately, how COVID-19 kills, the suffering it causes and the unbearable stillness that follows."
You can read her entire post on her website, where she has also posted the photos of Gill.
The author/activist recently took to her website to pen a lengthy post about her husband, who died on February 1 in hospital. He had recently returned from a tour in Asia with Gang of Four in November 2019, and Gill was admitted into hospital in January in London after developing what was simply called "respiratory illness."
His death was later officially listed as pneumonia and organ failure, with much of the world still ignoring the fact that COVID-19 was already spreading far beyond the borders of the original hotspot of Wuhan, China.
As Mayer writes, Gill had suffered from multiple COVID-19 symptoms, including low oxygen, lethargy and diminished appetite.
"Andy thought it unlikely he had come into contact with [coronavirus]," she writes, saying that U.K. doctors had asked Gill whether he travelled to Wuhan. However, while Gill had not specifically travelled to Wuhan with the band, "Gang of Four's tour had taken the band only to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou," Mayer writes.
Mayer then explains that Gang of Four's tour manager also suffered from "respiratory distress," with doctors stating they believed it was caused by COVID-19.
Mayer goes on to explain that one of the doctors who treated Gill later stated: "Once we learned more about COVID-19, I thought there was a real possibility that Andy had been infected by SARS-COV-2 ."
According to Mayer, the medical team did not find traces of COVID-19 when they ran tests, but they told her that this still did not mean it was any sort of definitive answer that the virus had not claimed his life.
"This is not, the specialist explained, a definitive answer. By the time of Andy's admission into hospital, he had been ill for weeks," she writes. "The virus could have already left his body, but triggered immune complications." Mayer added, "We may never find out whether COVID-19 killed Andy, yet I will always know, in indelible detail, how he died. I will always know, intimately, how COVID-19 kills, the suffering it causes and the unbearable stillness that follows."
You can read her entire post on her website, where she has also posted the photos of Gill.
