Sixth death from COVID-19 in NI - 80-year-old grandmother Magdalene Mitchell was ‘much loved’

She has named as 80-year-old Magdalene Mitchell, a grandmother from Belfast.

She died in the Mater Hospital. Mrs Mitchell had five daughters.

Her grandaughter Jenny asked the BBC to name her granny and to say “she was much loved”.

Earlier her daughter spoke this morning on the BBC Radio Ulster’s Stephen Nolan show.

She pleaded with the public to protect themselves by socially distancing.

She added that her mum developed a fever in Bradley Manor - a Belfast nursing home - last week - and died this morning in hospital.

She was not allowed to be with her in her dying moments.

In a post on Facebook another granddaughter Shannon said: “My beautiful wee granny Magdalene Mitchell passed away peacefully this morning 6 days after contracting the coronavirus.

“She was 80 years young only 2 months ago we were celebrating her 80th birthday with all her family laughing and smiling.”

She added that she “was a mummy, a granny, a great granny and an amazing person that just didnt deserve to die in a hospital on her own!”

“Her family should have been allowed to be with her but we couldnt!”

She added: “People need to be taking this serious,and stay away from vulnerable and elderly people and stay indoors as this virus is a killer my granny was fit and healthy 6 days ago!”

“Please stay at home with your family and keep them safe! Please stop going out and spreading this onto another family for them to experience the same heartache we are going through! Love you granny ♥️♥️”

A statement from Bradley Manor said: “There have been two confirmed cases of Coronavirus at the Residential Home of Bradley Manor.

“Both patients were detected early by our staff, through regular temperature testing, one remains in hospital and we have learned this morning that very sadly one of them has passed away”.

The statement adds: “We completely understand how worrying this is for families and we know they are looking for reassurance.

“We are taking the threat of this virus extremely seriously, applying all possible precautions and taking the temperatures of all residents at least twice daily.

“We are working closely with the Belfast Trust and the Public Health Agency and we’re doing all we can to keep our residents safe, but without specific testing, this is as much as we can do.

“We would really like to commend our staff and others like them across Northern Ireland who are at the forefront of this and who carry on their work with incredible dedication.

“Our thoughts are with the families of these two residents and those of our whole extended family of residents at this time”.

The statement added - under the headline ‘Cleaning and Protection’ that: “This virus is very worrying not just for our residents and their families, but also for our frontline nursing and care staff. The risk is being treated with the utmost seriousness and cleaning is a critical element of our efforts to control it. Our measures to protect other residents and our staff include:

“Our staff are stringently following all the specific Public Health Agency and Department of Health coronavirus infection control guidelines.

The home was already operating restricted visiting prior to the first suspected case and it was closed to all visitors seven days ago, late last Tuesday (17March).

All residents have their own private single en suite rooms and the rooms of both affected residents were given the highest level of deep clean following their admission to hospital.

We have enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures throughout the entire facility, with particular focus on frequently touched surfaces (such as door handles) and any communal area or equipment that may potentially become contaminated. This enhanced cleaning is being continued at least 3 times daily using the recommended cleaning agent.

Our staff observe very specific PPE guidelines with regards to disposable gloves and aprons; they travel to and from work in their own clothes, use changing room facilities and wear uniforms which are changed every day. Fluid resistant face masks are being worn when attending to any resident who is suspected of COVID-19, in line with PHA guidelines.

All staff have their temperature tested before starting a shift and each completes a declaration before starting on duty to check they are not presenting with the key symptoms of COVID-19”.

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