George Floyd Tested Positive For COVID-19, Autopsy Report Says

• African-American George Floyd got the novel coronavirus in April, according to the final autopsy.
• The Hennepin County Medical Examiner said that Floyd died due to cardiopulmonary arrest and the virus played no role in his death.

The official Minneapolis County autopsy has been released regarding the cause of George Floyd’s death. The African-American man made headlines after he was pinned down to death by police officer Derek Chauvin. His death sparked outrage over a growing number of police brutality cases in the United States.

In a final autopsy report, Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office found out that Floyd had the coronavirus since April. However, the report also clarified that COVID-19 “played no known role in his death”, and he was likely not contagious.

“The autopsy result most likely reflects asymptomatic but persistent…positivity from previous infection,” the report said.

Floyd conquered the novel coronavirus, which has killed more African-Americans in the U.S. than whites. In recent report, we read that African-Americans and Latinos are twice likely to die of COVID-19 compared with whites. This is due to continuing “economic inequalities” and lack of access to proper health care.

Citing the U.S. census Bureau, African-Americans represented about 13.4% of the whole population, which means about 51 million out of 328 million. CNN also reported that counties that have higher population of Black Americans account for more than 50% of all coronavirus cases and about 60% of deaths.

If coronavirus has no role in his demise, then what killed Floyd?

Apart from his COVID-19 result, Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office released more details about the case.

The report specified that Floyd died due to “cardiopulmonary arrest” or the failure of the heart to pump. A person who is having a cardiac arrest may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, or nausea. Signs also include loss of responsiveness and abnormal or absence of breathing.

“His neck was compressed when the officer’s knee was on it for more than eight minutes. But does not conclude that it directly caused his death,” the report stated.

Floyd likewise sustained bruises and cuts on his head, face, mouth, shoulders, arms, and legs. Despite the wounds, there is also no definitive proof that any of those injuries would have directly killed him.

There is no definitive evidence of major injuries on the neck, skull or brain, the report added. Plus his internal organs were not damaged at all.

“The thyroid cartilage and hyoid bone are intact,” the report reads.

This means Floyd did not die of strangulation.

We also learn that Floyd had a heart ailment and a history of high blood pressure. The toxicology result also showed the presence of several drugs in his urine and blood.

The drugs existing in his body were morphine, fentanyl, cannabis, and methamphetamine. Although, the report said, “not all” of the toxicology tests were reliable.

In conclusion, Hennepin County Medical Examiner stated that Floyd’s death was a homicide.

Floyd’s family contradicted the homicide result

Floyd’s family disagreed with the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s conclusion. His family cited an autopsy result conducted by an independent institution that they commissioned. It said that Floyd died of “asphyxiation from sustained pressure”. Contrary to the county’s result, Floyd has no heart disease.