A 64-year-old Nigerian woman, Mmaete Greg, has died in Britain after testing positive for coronavirus, The PUNCH has learnt.
Mmaete, who resided in London, died on Monday, March 6, a close relative to the deceased, Edoamaowo Udeme, told our correspondent on the telephone.
Udeme posted about the death of Mmaete on Facebook on Monday.
“Goodbye Aunty Maette Mercy, may you be our first and last coronavirus sacrifice in our family. I pray your husband and children come out of this sad situation. I feel for Janet, Wendy, Albert and your beloved Cherish. I feel for your husband Greg.” Udeme wrote.
When contacted, Udeme told The PUNCH that her late aunt lived and worked in the UK for over forty years and later retired from the service of the Metropolitan Police years before her death.
Narrating the sad incident, she said, “My elder brother based in Liberia called me a few days back that her daughter told him that she was in Intensive Care Unit due to COVID-19. All I could do was pray. Then yesterday, I got a message that she had passed.”
The relative of the deceased said her late aunt hailed from Ikot Nya in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
Our correspondent also spoke with Udeme’s elder brother, Nkere Philip, who was said to be based in Liberia.
Philip said, “I have been communicating with one of the children since their mother tested positive for coronavirus.
“About four days ago, the daughter called me to say their mother was seriously down with the virus and she was on admission at the hospital and had a 50:50 chance of survival.
“Then, the daughter called later on Monday and told me we lost her.
“She was not in the hospital for long. The way the virus is infecting people in Europe is very serious. The medical facilities are there but they couldn’t save her.
“When I spoke with the husband over the phone, he was still perplexed because everything happened so suddenly and he and the children did not expect that she was not going to be back home from the hospital.”
According to World Health Organisation statistics, there are over 50,000 coronavirus cases in the UK, including British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
Over 5,000 people have also died as a result of the virus.