On Monday 1st March, it was reported that a 64-year-old mother and her 43-year-old daughter died when 11 members of the same family caught Covid-19 after meeting on Christmas Day.
Kashmir Bains and Paramjeet of Wolverhampton fell seriously ill after testing positive for the virus. The daughter died on the day after she was hospitalised, and her mother died four weeks later.
According to Mr Bains the family had initially considered not to meet at Christmas but decided to go ahead with the celebrations because his sister, who has learning disabilities, had been suffering in isolation with her mental health. They gathered on Christmas Day, adhered to the government’s three household rule reportedly and "played safe", only meeting for a few hours. Mr Bains and his family, and his younger sister and her family, met up with his mother, father and older sister. Days after Christmas, all 11 tested positive for coronavirus.
In a statement to the BBC, Mr Bains said, "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."
