George Floyd Tested Positive for Coronavirus in April Before His Death

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner released the autopsy results on George Floyd on Wednesday nine days after his death.

The medical report revealed George Floyd tested positive for coronavirus in early April.

The Star Tribune reported:

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office released the full autopsy results performed on George Floyd with his family’s permission.

The release comes nine days after Floyd died following his detention on the pavement by police at a Minneapolis intersection and as crucial differences surfaced Monday with private autopsy findings released by family attorney Benjamin Crump.

Also disclosed by the report was that Floyd tested positive for COVID-19 in early April, although the autopsy did not cite that as a factor in his death.

“Since … positivity for [COVID-19] can persist for weeks after the onset and resolution of clinical disease, the autopsy result most likely reflects asymptomatic but persistent … positivity from previous infection,” the report said based on the autopsy performed by the medical examiner, Dr. Andrew Baker.

Floyd repeatedly told officers that he was unable to breathe while he was restrained before he lost consciousness and died. A concern with SARS-CoV-2019 infection is that it can cause scarring in the lungs that results in lingering respiratory problems and shortness of breath. However, doctors worry more about that long-term problem in severe COVID-19 cases that require hospitalization, and expect that patients with asymptomatic cases will fully recover. It can take weeks in some cases, though, before X-rays show that lungs have recovered.