"Take coronavirus seriously": Caller shares tragic story of her mother dying
23 March 2020, 19:57 | Updated: 23 March 2020, 19:59
This caller shared the devastating story of her elderly mother passing away, while she had to stay in the garden in case she passed on coronavirus.
Monica shared that she had lost her mum on Mother's Day and said, "People are not social distancing."
She was unsure if coronavirus was the cause of death as her mother also had cancer but the impact of people refusing to socially distance can have a profound effect, she said, even to the point her sister felt hesitant to call the doctor in their mother's final hours because she thought they'd be too busy treating coronavirus patients.
When the family called the emergency services, the response team had to gown up and Monica's family had to wait in the garden - after their mother was taken to hospital her brother went in a police car.
"When I last saw her we didn't hug, we didn't kiss, so the last thing when I saw my mum I couldn't hug her," Monica said.
She shared that when she went to visit her son afterwards, she couldn't believe the crowds on the South Downs, "it was like Brighton beach," she said.
"People are just not taking it seriously. Elderly people are vulnerable," she said, "we don't know if we'll get a funeral. Because of the coronavirus when you lose someone it's double impact.
"We can't do anything, we don't know what to do."
The Prime Minister has since announced a UK-wide lockdown in order to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Read more: what does the UK lockdown mean?
