Coronavirus: Man tells of mother's death at Royal Gwent

BBC Stuart LoudBBC
Stuart Loud has been unable to arrange his mother's funeral as he is in self isolation

A man who watched his mother die after contracting coronavirus has urged others to follow government advice aimed at containing the pandemic.

Stuart Loud's mother Marita Edwards, 80 died at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport at the weekend.

"We couldn't touch her, we couldn't hold hands, kiss her, hug her or anything else. We just had to watch her slip away," he said.

Mr Loud, from Westbury in Wiltshire, said his mother, who had no underlying health conditions, had been considered too frail to have ventilation.

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"We sat by her bedside and took it in turns to hold the little face mask to her face to make sure she was getting enough air," he said.

"We were all in protective clothing, masks, gloves and aprons.

Mr Loud, his step father and daughter are all now in self isolation.

"We can't organise a funeral. Everything is on hold," he said.

Mr Loud had been due to get married in four weeks time.

"My mum's whole wish was to be there," he said. "The one thing that kept her going was to be at my wedding and that won't be the case."

He said his message for the public was "please, please listen to what you're being told".