Corona aktuell: What it's like to lose a relative to Covid-19

The numbers of corona deaths are updated daily. But behind it are people – like the grandfather of an American, who is now talking about what it was like to lose him to Covid-19.

We have been surrounded by numbers since the beginning of the year. Every day we hear not just one, but several: The ones that point out those who are acutely infected. Those who have been adding up corona cases since the pandemic began. And finally the sad number of those who did not survive Covid-19.

Statistics have quickly become part of everyday life. For many, looking at the numbers every day is part of their morning routine like picking up a toothbrush. But the statistics have a problem: They quickly make you forget that behind each of these numbers there is a human life.

Taber lost her grandfather to Covid-19

Taber Walls knew this phenomenon herself. Until her own grandfather contracted the coronavirus. After 15 days of fighting, Scott County's James Randall Lewis passed away from Covid-19 last week. He was 80 years old.

Now his granddaughter has turned to "WKYT-TV" from Kentucky. The young woman told the broadcaster what it really feels like to lose a loved one to the corona virus. "If you experience it firsthand, it definitely changes your perspective a bit," says Taber.

In the past, her grandfather would always have told many stories from his life. As a truck driver, James experienced a lot. It was all the more frightening for the family to see him last tied to a bed and ventilated.

Above all, the isolation and corona measures were what made it particularly difficult for the family to say goodbye. She could only visit him in full protective gear through a window, her face pressed against the glass. "Seeing my grandmother trying to say goodbye to my grandfather this way was very, very difficult because you never thought it would happen that way," reports Taber.

Everyone should protect their family from the coronavirus

Now the granddaughter wants to warn other families above all with her experiences. Because even if you don't belong to the risk group yourself, you can pass the coronavirus on to them unnoticed. Almost everyone knows someone to whom the infection could be dangerous – so everyone should take precautionary measures.

"If only I could save another family from seeing a loved one the way I did my grandfather … Oh, I would do it right away", clarifies Taber and hopes that she can perhaps save another human life – by making people take their responsibility in dealing with the corona pandemic more seriously.

used source: WKYT-TV