COVID-19: Nigerian Couple Die 10 Days Apart in London

Matilda Omonaiye/

A Nigerian couple in the United Kingdom reportedly died 10 days apart after contracting COVID-19.

Dr.James Oniah, a 79-year-old retired radiologist, died on April 24 after battling with the virus while his 61-year-old wife, Mary, who is a care home director, died on May 4.

According to reports, Mrs Oniah contracted the virus during her job as a Regional Director for a care home provider before her 79-year-old husband was also struck down. They died at King George Hospital in Ilford, East London.

One of their three children, Oke Oniah, told UK press that his family was struggling to come to terms with the tragic deaths.

The late Dr Oniah hailed from Onitsha in Anambra State. He had studied at the University of Sussex, then worked in several hospitals as an agency radiologist before recently retiring.

His wife trained as a nurse and a midwife at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia and St Georges and Roehampton University Teaching Hospital in South London and also received training in palliative care nursing at City, University of London.