Covid-19: Mother and daughter die after 11 family members catch coronavirus at Christmas

Kashmir Bains, 64, and Paramjeet, 43, of Wolverhampton

(Handout)

A mother and her daughter died a month apart after 11 members of their family contracted Covid-19 after meeting on Christmas Day.

Kashmir Bains, 64, and Paramjeet, 43, of Wolverhampton, fell seriously ill after testing positive for the virus.

The family had not planned to celebrate the festive season but changed their minds because Paramjeet had suffered with poor mental health and isolation during lockdown.

Paramjeet, who had learning disabilities, died on January 5, the day after she was taken to hospital, while her mother died four weeks later.

Her brother, Indy Bains, said his family, his younger sister and her family, met up with his mother, father and older sister over the festive period. But days after Christmas, all 11 tested positive for coronavirus.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: “It’s been devastating for us as a family.”

The group gathered on Christmas Day, adhered to the government’s three household rule and “played safe”, only meeting for a few hours.

“We didn’t meet anyone else beforehand, no-one had any symptoms, we still don’t know who brought the virus into the family, into the house, but it’s happened and it’s something we’ll have to live with for the rest of our lives.”

Mr Bains told the BBC that while most had mild symptoms, Mrs Bains and her daughter fell seriously ill and were eventually admitted to intensive care at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.

“When the ambulances took them away, we just thought, ‘Well they’re in the right place, they’ll get treatment,’ we never thought once that they wouldn’t return home,” he added.

He has set up a JustGiving page in memory of his sister and mother to raise funds for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity. It has already raised more than £15,000.

He said the treatment his family received by hospital staff was “humbling” and that the hospital staff deserved “all the respect and gratitude we can give them.”

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