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The COVID toll of over 50,000 deaths in the UK paints its own sad picture, but behind every life lost is a story of pain and grief.
The families of every soul affected by the disease now bear their heartache under the shadow of the pandemic.
COVID-19 updates live from the UK and around the world
Marium Baig and her three sisters lost their mother Yasmeen to COVID-19 in April. He was only 58 years old.
Marium told Sky News how much it hurts her that her mother’s life has been reduced to a statistic.
“It’s horrible to think that it’s a number now, one of 50,000. It should never have gotten to that, it’s heartbreaking,” he said.
“I’m sorry for all the other families who are in the same situation because I know how difficult it is, it’s the most horrible thing to go through.”
Marium Baig said her mother had always been a fighter
Remembering her mother as a seven-year-old grandmother and a woman “loved by all members of the family,” Marium said: “She was full of life, always happy and smiling.
“The kids miss her so much, they cry every night for their grandmother and we just have to try to stay strong for our kids.”
The recipient of two kidney transplants, the latest in 2018, Ms Baig’s underlying poor health meant she was at increased risk of dying from COVID-19 once infected.
Her daughter said, “We were so sure until the last day that Mom is going to fight it. She is a fighter and after two kidney transplants we think she is just going to fight this virus.”
“But she couldn’t, couldn’t beat the virus, her body wasn’t ready for it.
“The most heartbreaking thing for us was that we couldn’t say goodbye properly. We couldn’t have a proper funeral, we couldn’t see her face because her body was zipped up in a black bag and in the coffin. That to me is the most disturbing. “.
This pandemic has not only claimed lives, it has also exposed long-standing inequalities.
People from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority (BAME) groups, like Yasmeen, have always had a higher risk of dying from the disease. They continue to lose lives in disproportionate numbers.
But this virus has affected people from all walks of life, from doctors to shopkeepers, nurses and taxi drivers – more than 50,000 victims of this invisible killer.
Many of those who were loved, who should have had years ahead of them, had their time cut short due to a global pandemic.
