Coronavirus: Nurse dies as she neared retirement after 40 years in job

Tributes have been paid to a nurse who has died with coronavirus as she closed in on retirement after 40 years in the job.

Philomina Cherian, 63, passed away at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, where she also worked as a staff nurse, after contracting COVID-19.

Mrs Cherian was married, had three children and came from Kerala in India, according to her family.

“She was a great human being, a caring mother and wife,” her husband, Joseph Varkey, said.

“She was a dedicated nurse. For her, nursing was not just a profession but it was her passion.

“She would have lived for so many years and enjoyed her well-deserved retired life if she was not affected by COVID.”

The hospital trust she worked for said Mrs Cherian was “a popular and hugely valued member” of their nursing family who “will be sorely missed by her colleagues as well as by her family and friends”.

Addressing her colleagues, chief nursing officer Sam Foster added: “Many of you will have known her and worked closely with her and I ask you to remember how she wonderfully cared for her patients and her colleagues, acting as an exemplar nurse to all who met her.

“Philomina was cared for with the utmost love, care and attention and we would like to thank all staff who were involved in her care.”

A fundraising page has been set up to help cover the costs of Mrs Cherian’s memorial.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Nurse dies as she neared retirement after 40 years in job