Gran ‘first to die by catching the virus on ward’
A GRANDMOTHER who went to hospital for a gallbladder op is believed to be the first Briton to die by catching coronavirus on the wards.
Retired cleaner Marita Edwards, 80, was ‘a very fit lady’ who regularly played nine holes of golf, said her family.
She went into the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, South Wales, for the routine operation on February 28.
She died last Thursday, a day after testing positive for Covid-19.
Her son Stuart Loud said: ‘If she had not been in hospital she would still be alive. Clearly there was a coronavirus infection in the hospital which claimed my mum’s life.
‘We couldn’t hug her or kiss her. We couldn’t hold hands. We took it in turns to sit with her and hold a mask to her face. She died the most horrific death.
‘I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what our family is going through right now.’ Mother of two Mrs Edwards of Bulwark, Monmouthshire, was one of five patients to die in the Royal Gwent – and the region is the worst hotspot outside
‘We couldn’t hug her or kiss her’
London for the virus.
Company manager Mr Loud, 50, said: ‘I do feel there was a ventilator lottery with my mum. I think bets were hedged on whether younger people might be infected and would need that equipment.
‘The fact that my mum was 80 was probably not in her favour. I don’t think the resources are there, and the medical profession isn’t quite ready for this.’
Her son said that, until last week, Mrs Edwards was allowed to be seen by hospital visitors in the normal way, but was isolated in the last week of her life.
Mr Loud added: ‘ Once they had suspicions there might be the corona, they isolated the ward. We then had to go through a protocol every time we entered, with masks, gloves and aprons.’
He said his message for the public was ‘please, please listen to what you’re being told’. The Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which runs the hospital, declined to comment on an individual case.