Trolls target elderly widower online who lost three family members to Covid-19

A pensioner, who lost his wife and two sons to Covid-19 within five days of each other, has been trolled online by social media users who claim the virus is a hoax.

David Lewis, 81, from Rhondda, South Wales, lost his wife Gladys,74, on Thursday last week, just days after she developed coronavirus symptoms.

Their son Dean, 44, died the following day and their 42-year-old son Darren, who had Down's syndrome and hadn't left home since February, passed away on Monday.

All three had tested positive for the virus before they died, with their death certificates listing Covid-19 as the cause.

Gladys, who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema, had been shielding through the pandemic with her son Dean, only going out once a week to shop for his parents.

After news of the family’s tragedy was posted on Facebook by Wales Online, several social media users took the opportunity to claim the virus is a hoax.

“Scaremongering propaganda. Note they said “with” not from Covid-19,” one person wrote on the Facebook comments section below the online article.

Another user commented: “Do you even know if they were presumed to have covid without even testing? Basically guessing they had covid!"

Others asked what underlying health conditions they had, with some suggesting their diet and lifestyle had been a factor in the deaths.

Reacting to the comments, Dean Lewis' widow, Claire, told Channel 4 News: "I just wish people would wise up and think again, because at the end of the day, no one expects to bury their family to (sic) this.

"Everyone that thinks it's a big joke and in a big conspiracy theory needs to just wise up and listen."

David Lewis’s daughter, Debbie Mountjoy added: "They want to spend a couple of minutes with me, my dad, Claire (Dean's wife), Claire’s children and my children to see the devastation that we are going through as a family.”

Ten other family members have tested positive for the virus and are in isolation.

South Wales Police have said they are looking ‘into the issue’ but have not received any official complaints and will not be launching a formal investigation.

A spokesman for the police force said: “Keeping people safe and confident in their homes and communities is a key priority for South Wales Police and we take all reports of malicious communications extremely seriously.

“Before sending any form of communication, members of the public are advised to consider what impact their comments will have on others and whether their post, text message, letter or phone call could be breaking the law.”

A spokesman from Facebook said: "We’re taking aggressive steps to stop misinformation and harmful content from spreading on our platforms, and we have removed seven million pieces of Covid-19 related misinformation between April and June.

"We've also directed over 2 billion people to authoritative health information, including from the NHS, with over 350 million people clicking through to learn more.”