Families pay tribute to their loved ones who died from coronavirus and the story of hope

  • Video report by ITV News Reporter Martha Fairlie

ITV News has heard tributes to some of those who died after contracting coronavirus as well as a story of hope.

Colin Conrich had so many plans for the future but he caught coronavirus, and last Sunday, just a week before his 74th birthday, his family, including his wife Valerie, had to attend his funeral in isolation over the internet.

"To watch your mother say goodbye to her partner of over 50 years, seeing her beloved being lowered into the ground, nobody around the funeral, nobody around the coffin, no one," Mr Conrich's daughter, Sharon, told ITV News.

She added: "Even if we were two metres apart we could have sent support but we were miles apart and it was horrific."

The virtual funeral for Colin Conrich. Credit: Family handout

Retired hospital porter, Andrew Trebel, volunteered to return to work in Wrexham.

His sister, Maria Molloy said: "He put on Facebook him in PPE and said this is what I've got to work in now and we'd all made jokes about it with my dad."

But his family and colleagues were shocked when he died days after his father passed away.

Andrew Trebel volunteered to return to work in Wrexham. Credit: Family handout

Ms Malloy added: "They tried everything, he was on a ventilator for several days and we thought he was getting better, but in the end he had a massive organ failure and we lost him yesterday lunchtime."

Matt Hancock said there had “very sadly” been 27 verified deaths amongst those working for the health service during the pandemic.

Mr Trebel's death comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed 27 nurses, doctors and care staff have died from coronavirus, but announcements from NHS trusts and tributes from loved ones indicate the true number is higher still, with more than 40 NHS staff thought to have died with Covid-19.

On Mother's Day, Stacey Fresco's family were told there was nothing more doctors could do but they agreed to try a technique calling proning.

Stacey's husband told ITV News doctors said she was the sickest person in the hospital, and now she is back at home. Credit: Family handout

Proning, or prone positioning, is a "simple" technique medical staff can use to potentially save lives, the Intensive Care Society said.

Mrs Fresco came home from hospital one week ago.

Her husband told ITV News: "From one of the doctors telling me she was the sickest person in the hospital at one point to see her being able to walk around the house albeit slowly at the moment is a million miles from where we were, where we thought we were."

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know