Coronavirus: Suffolk woman who 'thought she wouldn't get virus' dies

Jane Jay died at West Suffolk Hospital on 24 March

The son of a woman thought to be the first person to die with coronavirus in Suffolk has warned it is "everywhere".

Alex Jay said he and his two sisters were told Jane Jay, 75, from Ixworth, tested positive with the virus on Mother's Day. She died the next day.

He said his mother had been to a garden centre before she was taken ill and admitted to West Suffolk Hospital.

Mr Jay said: "She didn't think she would catch it but she caught it [living] in rural Suffolk."

The 52-year-old said it was "insane and surreal" when he visited his mum, a former social worker and a "very loving grandmother" to five children, for the last time at the hospital.

Mr Jay, who lives in Ipswich, said he was the only one who got to see her as he and his two sisters, Sara and Torah, had to nominate a sole visitor.

Jane Jay pictured with her daughter Sara

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Mr Jay said his mother, who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was connected to a ventilator in an isolation room.

"As my mother was the first (person in Suffolk to die with Covid-19), the hospital was quiet," he said.

"My mother was very lucid; we discussed funeral arrangements and she even cracked a bit of a joke. She was very strong."

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Mr Jay said his mother died within 24 hours of him last seeing her. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday.

He said: "If there's a message I'd like to get across is that my mother was at a garden centre the day before she was admitted to hospital, she lived in rural Suffolk, she didn't think she would catch it... it's everywhere.

"Anybody at risk has to be holed up for the next few months."