Coronavirus: Together for 60 years, Italian couple 'died alone' of infection within two hours of each other
An elderly Italian couple, who were together for 60 years, tragically passed away alone within just two hours of each other, after they were infected with the coronavirus.
Severa Belotti, 82, and Luigi Carrara, 86, were together for 60 years but spent their last days on lockdown in their home of Albino, in the northern Italian province of Bergamo, one of the worst affected regions in the country, without any medical assistance, according to the Daily Mail.
Their son, Luca Carrara, told local outlets that his parents did not receive treatment despite suffering from a fever of 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit) and that they were only admitted to Bergamo hospital this past weekend.
He said his father was admitted on Saturday and that his mother was taken to the same hospital on Sunday, and slammed the facility for not allowing him to see them before they passed away.
"They died alone, that's how this virus works," he said. "Your loved ones are left alone and you can't even say goodbye, hug them, try to give them some comfort. (You can't even tell them) a good lie like 'everything will be fine'," Luca added.
Luca, who is currently in quarantine with his wife and two children, said he would not be able to see them even after they died because they were taken to the cemetery and will be cremated within days because "there are too many dead people."
He also criticized the hospital for how it is handling the crisis and claimed the staff "do not know where to put patients, probably because doctors are doing a selection and letting the elderly people leave."
In a touching social media tribute to his parents, he wrote, "Hello, Mom and Dad, this evil virus has taken you both the same day, will you continue arguing up there?"
He further shared that his father had no previous illness and cautioned people to be very careful about the outbreak.
"People have to understand that they have to stay home because it is okay for them to keep saying that the victims are just old, but when it happens to their parents, it's really difficult," he wrote on Facebook.
Close to 12,500 people have been infected and 827 have died from COVID-19 in Italy, making the country the second-worst affected after mainland China, which has close to 81,000 confirmed cases.
The total number of confirmed cases worldwide is now over 126,000, with the WHO declaring it a pandemic and making it the first time a coronavirus has been responsible for such an outbreak.