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The family of a teaching assistant who died after testing positive for coronavirus say her death was “completely avoidable” and are calling for answers.
Michele Cockrill lost her fight at home in Milton Regis, near Sittingbourne, on Sunday, November 22, a day after paramedics had visited her.
The 62-year-old grandmother - who is not thought to have had any underlying health conditions - was a teaching assistant at The Sittingbourne School, but had previously worked at Westlands and Faversham’s Abbey School.
Michele’s son Mark, 38, and his sister, Claire Agyemang, believe she caught the virus at work.
“We are so certain it’s come from the school,” Mark said. “The timeline just absolutely aligns with the October/November half-term, during which she’d been away with my sister to Weymouth.
“She went back to work on Monday, November 2; on the Wednesday morning she said she didn’t feel very well and was sent home to isolate.
“On the 11th or 12th she decided to take a test and on the 17th she had a positive result.
Why has the council not been tougher and overruled any government judgement and closed schools and colleges, knowing what the score is in Swale?
“Her daughter, never got the virus, nor her husband or their daughter, so it couldn’t have been while she’d been in Weymouth.”
He added: “When her positive result came back on the 17th, things seemed okay.
“But on Saturday, November 21, mum wasn’t very well at all - on the phone it sounded like she’d had a stroke.
“The ambulance was called at 7pm, they arrived at about 9.30pm, and stayed with mum until about 1am before leaving - we don’t know why she wasn’t admitted to hospital.”
A family friend took her lunch the next day, but at 6pm she returned and found Michele collapsed in the bathroom.
Her cause of death was given as Covid-19, with pneumonia a contributing factor.
He said: “Being an outsider, living in Southampton, and looking at Swale as a borough with its extremely high rates, it’s quite frustrating.
“Here, everything’s closed and our city council seems to be taking a much more hands-on approach. Looking at Swale it’s quite a scary situation.”
Mark added: “We’re furious mum was still allowed to be working at a school at 62. In a lot of other areas, schools are closing.
“Why wasn’t mum shielded or furloughed because of her age?
“Why has the council not been tougher and overruled any government judgement and closed schools and colleges, knowing what the score is in Swale? And why hasn't there been mass testing in Swale already?
“We feel that this was a completely avoidable death. It’s a real failure of the system.”
A spokesman for The Sittingbourne School said: "Our school is deeply saddened by the loss of a much loved, long standing member of staff. Over the years, Michele contributed so much to the success of our students, for which we will always be grateful. Our thoughts continue to be with Michele’s family and closest friends."
A Kent County Council (KCC) spokesman said: “We would like to send our sincere condolences to Ms Cockrill’s family, friends and colleagues at this extremely difficult time.
“The Government made it a national priority to keep schools open from September through to the end of the current term as regular school attendance is imperative for both pupils’ learning and their mental and physical well-being.
"KCC has supported schools to stay as open as possible with appropriate Covid safety measures in place for the benefit of pupils and staff. Local authorities have no decision-making powers in terms of school closures – the Department for Education or individual head teachers are the only ones who can decide to close a school if this is considered the safest option.
“KCC has been working with central Government to manage the tier 3 restrictions imposed across Kent. We continue to appeal to all residents to follow the social distancing guidelines and tier 3 restrictions at all times. An asymptomatic testing site is opening on the Isle of Sheppey this week and any residents who have symptoms can immediately book a test through gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test.”
