An inquest into the death of a 17-year-old girl at Mayo University Hospital, who died with Covid-19, opened at Swinford courthouse and will conclude tomorrow.
Sally Maaz, who had an underlying health condition, was admitted to a Covid-19 ward 10 days before she died in April 2020. Her parents are questioning the circumstances around her death.
Abudul and Rula Maaz are part of the extensive Syrian community settled in Ballyhaunis.
Giving evidence today, Mr Maaz said his daughter was born at Mayo University Hospital with a congenital heart defect. She received multiple surgeries and ongoing care and treatment at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin.
He described her as an intelligent, ambitious student who was studying for her Leaving Certificate in 2020 with dreams of studying medicine.
The inquest heard Sally was admitted to Mayo University Hospital on 22 March 2020 with breathing difficulties. She was tested for Covid-19 and the family say they were told she had a negative result.
She was admitted again on 14 April and her primary complaint was back pain. She was swabbed for Covid-19 which was negative but later placed in a Covid ward when it was suspected she had the virus.
Ms Maaz was swabbed again for Covid-19 on 16 April but this result was indeterminate and a third swab taken on 17 April came back as positive on 19 April.
A doctor advised the family about the result and said that Sally's heart was getting weaker and that she would likely pass away.
Sally died days later on 24 April 2020.
Consultant microbiologist Dr Shomik Sibartie explained that the swab taken on 16 April, which returned an indeterminate result, was subsequently retested and came back as positive.
He said in his opinion, given the timeline of when Ms Maaz entered the hospital and the incubation period for Covid-19, she contracted Covid-19 in the community.
However he agreed with Coroner Patrick O'Connor that this was speculation on his part and nobody could tell when or how she contracted the disease.
Earlier, Detective Sergeant Michael Doherty, based in Castlebar, told the inquest that on 1 May, mother and daughter Martina and Jemima Burke had presented themselves at the station and asked for a criminal investigation into why patients who did not have Covid were being put into Covid wards at Mayo University Hospital.
Detective Doherty said he spoke to the Maaz family at the time and they said they were not interested in a criminal investigation. They said they simply wanted answers about some of the treatment and care that Sally had received.
The Burkes were present in court this morning and stood up during proceedings to challenge the accuracy of what the detective had said.
Coroner O'Connor asked them both to sit down or leave. However they insisted they be heard to establish the truth, which they said had not been given in their opinion.
The coroner asked them to leave the courtroom but they refused. Proceedings were adjourned for ten minutes but the mother and daughter continued to stand in the public gallery when the inquest resumed.
The pair continued to call for "the truth to be told" before being escorted from the courthouse by the gardaí.
The inquest will conclude tomorrow.
