Tributes paid to 'wonderful' great-grandfather who died after coronavirus diagnosis, as UK total climbs over 200

  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Richard Pallot

The family of the second person to die in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus have paid tribute to the "wonderful husband, dad, granddad and great-granddad".

The man died at Milton Keynes Hospital earlier this week. Shortly before his death he had tested positive for the virus, but his cause of death has not been confirmed.

It comes as the number of cases in the UK has risen above 200 for the first time, with health officials vying to contain the number of cases.

On Saturday evening, it was announced 209 people had been diagnosed with the virus in the UK. The figure is a sharp jump from the 163 cases reported on Friday.

Overall, there are 184 confirmed cases in England, 16 in Scotland, seven in Northern Ireland and two in Wales. More than 21,000 people have been tested for the virus, the Department of Health said.

The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, has insisted the Government will do "everything in its power" to delay and mitigate the coronavirus threat, as he set out plans contained in emergency legislation to deal with the impact of the virus.

The new measures will include employment protection for health volunteers, who could be asked to leave their main jobs for four weeks to help. More use of phone and video link-ups in courts are likely, as well as 500 extra NHS 111 call centre staff being trained, as ITV News Political Correspondent Daniel Hewitt explains.

New cases have also been reported in Ireland, where 19 people are known to have the virus. Italy said more than 230 people had died from the virus, with some 50 deaths in the space of 24 hours. Officials there have now ordered a Wuhan-style lockdown of the Lombardy region.

Meanwhile authorities in the US are preparing to respond to a coronavirus-hit cruise ship carrying British passengers after 21 people on board tested positive for the illness. Forty-five people on board the ship off the Californian coast have been tested, with nineteen of those diagnosed with the virus being crew members.

In China, a hotel which was housing people being monitored for signs of the virus collapsed on Saturday, leaving authorities to mount a rescue operation.

Family pay tribute to great-grandfather who died after catching coronavirus

The man died at a hospital in Milton Keynes earlier this week. Credit: PA

In a statement released on Saturday, the family of the man who died at Milton Keynes Hospital said: "We as a family have lost a truly loving and wonderful person and are trying to come to terms with this. He was 83-years-old and a wonderful husband, dad, grandad and great-grandad who would go to any lengths to support and protect his family.

"We can confirm that he was admitted to hospital on Monday and after observations the decision was made to remove him from the ward as a precaution to carry out more intensive tests.

"On Thursday evening it was confirmed that our loved one tested positive for coronavirus. He passed away shortly after being advised that he tested positive, with us all present at the hospital with him. Whilst he may have tested positive for having the virus, it has not been confirmed what the cause of his death was.

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"As he has tested positive, we as a family have been tested and told to self-isolate as a precaution," the statement continued.

"This whole nightmare is not something that we or our loved ones asked for. As we are in isolation currently, we cannot arrange for him to be put to rest and with all the activity that is going around with regards to everyone's concerns, we cannot grieve him as we would wish to.

"People should perhaps put themselves in our shoes and think how would they feel with some of the hurtful comments that are being made. We would not wish this experience on anyone and we would ask that you have respect for us and allow us to grieve."

A family member has previously claimed the hospital was “too slow” to detect the man’s symptoms and move him into isolation away from other at-risk patients, the Guardian reported.

Italian officials order Wuhan-style lockdown over virus fears, ITV News Europe Editor James Mates explains

After more than 1,200 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Italy in one day alone, authorities there have moved to order a Wuhan-style lockdown.

At least 230 people have died from the virus in Italy so far, making it Europe's worst affected nation.

The Lombardy region will now be subject to special conditions for four weeks. The area is where many of the cases have been recorded, and is connected to other cases in the UK after Britons returned from the Italian region.

Some 16 million people will be affected by the restrictions, which will prevent people from entering and leaving the region, which includes Milan. The effect will no doubt have an impact for Britons seeking a winter getaway, with many ski resorts and popular tourists destinations under the restrictions.