Europe
2021.01.27 00:30 GMT+8

Remembering the 100,000 victims of COVID-19 in the UK

Updated 2021.01.27 02:02 GMT+8
Katherine Berjikian

 

More than 100,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 

The 103,704 deaths recorded by the ONS as of January 15 is slightly higher than the 100,162 deaths recorded by the UK government. But that figure only counts the people who died 28 days after a positive test. 

One of those victims is Berrice Moore, an 88-year-old grandfather. He was first admitted to the hospital for an infection before he contracted the virus and eventually died. 

After his death, his grandson Ellis Tustin formed Names Not Numbers, an organization of more than 500 families of COVID-19 victims trying to ensure their loved ones are not forgotten.

 

Berrice Moore with his family, including Ellis Tustin when he was a child. /Ellis Tustin

 

"Berrice Moore was a very funny and lovely man," Tustin told CGTN Europe. "And a lot of people will watch this and say, 'well, 88 was good innings,' but there are people going in their 20s, there are people going in their 30s, there are people going in their 40s."

Names Not Numbers also blames the UK government for the number of dead, which exceeds the number of British civilians killed during World War II.

The UK figure is twice the amount of a worst-case scenario of 50,000 suggested at the start of the pandemic. 

And early in January, Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, declared a "major incident," saying the hospitals in the capital would be overwhelmed because of a surge in COVID-19 patients. Others have compared the country's hospitals to a "war zone."

"In [the UK], we have a culture that when people die and when you have grief, you kind of accept it and you deal with it your own way," Tustin added.

"And this is not a time for something like that to happen. The deaths of 100,000 people – and more will come – is simply down to the government neglect that has happened."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled out calls for an inquiry into the government's response to the pandemic. Ministers have argued that while there have been some mistakes, they had to make rapid decisions at the time. 

Names Not Numbers plans to organize marches and days of remembrance to make sure the thousands lost are not forgotten.

Video editor: Nuri Moseinco. Interview: Nicole Johnston. 

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