Des Moines Sun

Relatives of an Iowa man who passed away in late November from an infection unrelated to COVID-19 still believe the virus indirectly caused his death, according to an MSN report.

Dale Weeks, 78, reportedly died of sepsis after spending 15 days in a small hospital in the MercyOne health care system because larger hospitals in the state were unable to admit him due to the high number of COVID-19 patients, according to The Des Moines Register.

"Tragic: An Iowa man died needlessly from an infection last month after spending 15 days in a small hospital when larger facilities in the state couldn’t accommodate him because they were overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients," Majority Leader of Suffolk County Legislature Jon Cooper stated on Twitter.

Despite MercyOne staff's best efforts, Weeks' infection persisted, and his family repeatedly asked that he be relocated to a more advanced hospital.

Weeks was eventually sent to another hospital after 15 days and had surgery, but his condition continued to deteriorate and he died of the infection.

Although hospitals across the country have been inundated with the delta variant of COVID-19, two recent British studies indicate that the omicron variant might be weaker and result in fewer hospitalizations, according to a report by The Hill.