Nigerian nurse dies in UK after contracting coronavirus

A British-based Nigerian described as a “dedicated and loving” nurse has tragically died of coronavirus five weeks after first being placed on a ventilator.

Onyenachi Obasi, 51, had been working as a health visitor and nurse, and her family said she “gave her life doing what she loved”.

She died in the early hours of May 6 at Queen’s Hospital, and is survived by her 19-year-old son.

Her niece Ijeoma Uzoukwu, said: “We are just heartbroken. She was really loving, really sweet and a really cute person.

“She was a good example of unconditional love and just loved everyone. She was so giving and always had an ear – she took people as they were.

“She loved her job, but that is what caused her to fall ill in the first place.”

Ms Obasi, who had been living in Barking and Dagenham, had no underlying health conditions and told her family that she felt she had a duty to work, and help, during the pandemic.

Ms Uzoukwu explained: “She told me she had to do it.”

However, a few days after caring for a patient with coronavirus, she fell ill herself before eventually being admitted to hospital.

Her niece said: “Any normal situation I would go and see her, and be by her side. But because of the lockdown, we weren’t able to do that, and that was really hard for our family.”

Ms Obasi was placed on a ventilator for five weeks and was slowly recovering before she caught an infection. She died in the early hours of May 6 at Queen’s Hospital.

Ms Uzoukwu is organising a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay for her aunt’s funeral and to also help provide for her 19-year-old son, who is vulnerable and was dependant on her.

She said: “It was just the two of them, and he relied on her for so much. We want to make sure he is taken care of for the foreseeable future and get him the help that he needs.

“He is a really sweet boy, and he has taken after his mum. He is such a nice boy and he is finding it really hard without her.”

So far the family have raised more than £6,000 towards Ms Obasi’s funeral costs.

• Adapted from a report by the London Evening Standard.