Prominent Australian Health Expert Apologises for Incorrectly Linking COVID to High Profile Deaths

An employee walks past the logo of the ABC located at the main entrance to the ABC building located at Ultimo in Sydney, Australia, on June 5, 2019. AAP/David Gray

Australia’s public broadcaster has been forced to apologise on behalf of prominent health editor and broadcaster Norman Swan for incorrectly linking the deaths of cricketer Shane Warne and Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching to COVID-19.

For much of the pandemic, Swan was a regular public face on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) where he pushed governments to adopt a suppression strategy to deal with the virus, including tough restrictions, mask mandates, and vaccine rollouts.