Families still devastated by Covid five years on

Charles Persinger lost his wife and mother with Covid

Charles Persinger, from Matfield in Kent, lost his mother and his wife to Covid within weeks of each other in 2021 at the height of the pandemic.

It was heart-breaking, he said, adding: "I don't want other families to go through what I went through."

His mother and wife were two of the 15,000 people who died in Kent, Sussex and Surrey between 2020 and 2023.

Five years on, families who lost loved ones say the devastation of the pandemic is still ever-present today.

More than 44 million people in the UK had the virus between April 2020 and February 2022, according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Just under 227,000 people died in the UK with Covid-19 listed as one of the causes on their death certificate.

'I tried to reassure her'

Describing the call he had from his wife Kate, Mr Persinger said: "As soon as I found out Kate was sick I went straight home because I knew someone would have to look after her."

Later admitted to hospital, Mrs Persinger was ventilated and the couple had a last phone call.

"Kate was saying I'm not going to make it through this," he said. "I'm not going to wake up.

"I tried to reassure her. But clearly I was wrong"

Colleagues clapped bus driver Peter Hart's funeral cortege after he died with Covid

The first variant of the virus seen in the UK was initially detected in Kent in late 2020.

This was subsequently named the Alpha variant by the World Health Organization.

Businesses in the county struggled to know how to keep their staff safe and many employees continued to work.

Among them was bus driver Peter Hart, from Maidstone.

Mr Hart died in December 2020, two weeks after testing positive for Covid.

His son Adam Hart recalls his father being "deeply upset and concerned" about the risks of catching Covid.

"There is a haunting picture he sent to us of him covering over the holes in the screen on his bus with cling film," he said.

"He was crying out for help really and it is so haunting that picture now, considering what happened."

Molly Phew believes her father caught Covid during a hospital stay

'I hope there are lessons learnt'

Molly Phew, from Brighton, East Sussex, lost her 94-year-old father John Goddard to Covid-19 on Christmas Day 2020. He had a short illness followed by Covid complications.

Ms Phew said: "We got that call saying what would you like us to do?"

Her father had deteriorated and the hospital asked if the family wanted him to be resuscitated.

"We said no," said Mrs Phew. "I knew then he was never going to come out.

"I think it was unprecedented. I hope if this ever happens again that there are lessons learnt."