ABC’s health expert Dr Norman Swan has apologised for linking Shane Warne’s death to Covid-19.
The cricket legend passed away on March 4 in Thailand after suffering a heart attack.
Warne had tested positive a few weeks earlier and had been experiencing mild Covid symptoms.
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Dr Swan told ABC News that it was ‘too much of a coincidence’ that Warne passed away after having Covid.
He said: “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.”
Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching also passed away almost a week later on March 10 from a suspected heart attack.
However, her family later revealed that Katching had never tested positive for Covid-19 prior to her death.
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He later told Daily Mail Australia that Warne had ‘lots of risk factors for heart disease, but if he was going to get a bit of extra inflammation from Covid, that could have tipped him over the edge’.
Dr Swan was slammed online for linking the pair of high-profile deaths to the disease.
2GB host Ben Fordham accused Dr Swan of ‘speculating like a gossipd columnist’.
He said: “There’s an unwritten rule for medicos who work in the medical space: Don’t go speculating on cases you know nothing about and that’s exactly what he did yesterday on Shane Warne.”
Cricket fans and others online also grilled the doctor.
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One wrote: “Norman Swan has grifted, and recklessly stirred fear, throughout the entire pandemic without being pulled up by the ABC. Enough is enough.”
Another said: “Why does the ABC still give this absolute nut case a national platform to spew his bats**t claims?”
A third added: “Somebody please tell me I’m dreaming.
“Literally minutes ago, the ABCTV Dr Norman Swan has linked Shane Warne’s death to Covid-19. I am totally gobsmacked.”
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Dr Swan was forced to issue an apology following the backlash.
He told news.com.au: “I’ve personally apologised to Andrew her husband.
“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.”
SPORTbible has reached out to Norman Swan for comment.
Jayden Collins