Fundraiser for family of pregnant nurse who died from coronavirus raises tops £100,000

Donations for the family and newborn baby of a pregnant NHS nurse who died from coronavirus have now topped £100,000.

Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, 28, who worked as a nurse on a general ward at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital for five years, died on Sunday.

Her baby daughter was delivered successfully by caesarean section and is doing well, according to the hospital, although it is not clear whether she has also tested positive for the disease.

Agyapong's husband is currently self-isolating and has also been tested for COVID-19.

A GoFundMe page set up on Wednesday morning had raised over £70,000 by Thursday morning. It later passed the £100,000 shortly after 11am.

"Mary was a blessing to everyone she came across and her love, care and sincerity will be irreplaceable," organiser Rhoda Asiedu wrote on the page.

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"I am raising this funds for her immediate family; her husband, AJ and her baby girl little Mary, who was born at the time of her demise."

The Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said that Agyapong tested positive for COVID-19 on 5 April and was admitted to the hospital she worked two days later.

David Carter, chief executive of the trust, said: "Mary worked here for five years and was a highly valued and loved member of our team, a fantastic nurse and a great example of what we stand for in this trust.

"She tested positive for COVID-19 after being tested on April 5 and was admitted to the hospital on April 7.”

Agyapong had been working at the hospital until at least 12 March, well into her third trimester, Channel 4 news reported.

But the hospital said it did not have any coronavirus patients before she took maternity leave.

Colleagues paid tribute to the nurse, who also went by her married name Mary Boateng, on the GoFundMe page.

Renai Mcinerney wrote: "Sister Mary was my colleague, I worked alongside her for a few years. She deserves her family to be looked after, after she devoted her life to the NHS as a nurse.”

Caitlin Green posted: "So sorry to Mary's family and friends for her loss. She will live on in her beautiful baby girl."

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