Birmingham care home nurse dies of suspected Covid-19 Published duration 9 April Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic

image copyright Family handout image caption Elsie Sazuze died in hospital on Tuesday

Relatives of a care home nurse who died after having symptoms of Covid-19 say she was dedicated to helping people.

Elsie Sazuze fell ill at home in Birmingham before being taken to Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield where she died on Tuesday.

Her husband Ken, who is training to be a nurse, said she told him before she was put on a ventilator to be "strong and to stay strong for the kids".

Mr Sazuze said he believed his wife would "pull through".

image caption Ken Sazuze said his wife called him before being put on a ventillator

He said she had called him just before she was about to be put on a ventilator.

"She started telling me, 'Ken, if I don't come back be strong, I love you, be strong for the kids'," he said.

"I was like, 'no, no, no don't tell me that. I don't want you to start telling me that in a negative way... we will be all right'.

"She said, 'I'm just telling you in case'."

Mr Sazuze said his wife of 24 years, who had trained and worked at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, could not have visitors, like other suspected coronavirus patients.

She understood the risks of working on the front line but was happy to help people, he added.

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