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The family of a couple who died of coronavirus just 12 hours apart has urged the public to follow health guidelines.
Owen and Bredge Ward, both 69, died at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry on Tuesday.
The couple, who were from Strabane in Co Tyrone and had been married for 48 years, had six children and nine grandchildren.
His son Martin said he held his father’s hand while he died while his brothers were at the funeral home with their mother.
“This is what the disease does: it can be mild or it can devastate lives,” he told BBC NI.
“Within hours my mother, who was getting better, went downhill. Maybe it was the shock.
Fast forward a week and my father was getting better and my mother was getting worse.
“She passed away yesterday, then my father, from a position where he was improving, he just completely collapsed and a couple of hours after my mother’s death, he passed away too.”
Mr Ward, who works as a nurse in Galway, added: “Even though they were sedated and received pain relief and loving care from the Altnagelvin Hospital staff, they both collapsed completely within a couple of hours.
“This is how it is. That is the pain and suffering this caused to different families and the same message that we must convey is simply to take care of people, adhere to the guidelines and care about other people.”
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