‘I’m still haunted that he died alone’: The last voices of the Covid inquiry

Rivka Gottlieb said she still felt “haunted” by the fact that her father, Michael, died alone.

He was a fit and active 73-year-old, she said, working part-time in a golf shop and teaching children at his local synagogue.

Her story was one of the last to be told at the Covid inquiry, which heard its final evidence this week.

In March 2020, Michael and Rivka’s mother, Mili, were admitted to different wards of the Royal Free hospital, in north London, with Covid symptoms – just as the first lockdown was announced.

“We were just expecting him to be given a bit of oxygen and then he’d be sent home,” Rivka said.

Michael deteriorated in hospital. His cough became so severe he had to send a WhatsApp message to tell her he was being put on a ventilator.

Two weeks later, the family was told he would never recover and that doctors were going to reduce his life support.

“It was a dark and terrifying time and difficult to get updates from the hospital. I feared the worst every time the phone rang,” recalled Rivka.

Her mother was discharged after a week, but now rarely leaves the house after suffering from long-term effects, including breathlessness, confusion and stomach pains.