Wales coroner rules nurses’ Covid deaths as industrial disease

The deaths of two nurses from Covid-19 in the early days of the pandemic have been ruled as industrial disease.

Gareth Roberts, 65, of Aberdare, and Domingo David, 63, of Penarth, were found to have been most likely to have contracted the virus from colleagues or patients while working for hospitals under the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

The senior coroner Graeme Hughes concluded on Friday that although they were given appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), Roberts and David were “exposed to Covid-19 infection at work, became infected and that infection caused” their deaths. He made a finding of industrial disease.

Roberts’ family had argued for a conclusion of industrial disease, while the health board had made the case for ruling that both deaths were from natural causes.

Unions are campaigning for Covid-19 to be considered an industrial disease by the UK government so workers affected by it would receive greater financial support.

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Source: The Guardian, 13 January 2023