'I’ll never be me again': Grieving son's anger and heartbreak at Government's handling of pandemic

The 57-year-old's son, John Lyons, and his partner, Jayann Williams, took over as full-time carers for Jacqueline during the pandemic to limit the number of people entering her home.

However, when restrictions eased, they re-hired an external carer in December 2021, from whom Jacqueline tragically caught Covid-19.

Jacqueline was rushed to hospital less than 72 hours after catching Covid-19 and died six days later.

Now, as the Covid Inquiry asks questions over how the pandemic was handled and if the UK could have been better prepared, John and Jayann are reflecting on the impact on their family.

The inquiry was steeped in controversy before it had even officially opened, as not one of the 20 bereaved family members put forward by Covid Bereaved Families for Justice have been called to speak at the inquiry.

Jayann said: "That's just disgusting. I can't believe it. Why won't they let them speak? I'd have loved to have done something like that, but seeing those people face to face, the people responsible for making those decisions, I don't know what I'd do."

One of the couple's main concerns is how restrictions were eased concerning people who were experiencing symptoms of Covid, as well as restrictions for people classed as "at-risk".

Jayann said: "We opened up her care just before Christmas and someone would come in for an hour and a half in the morning to give her a shower and everything.

"But then as the restrictions eased and the self-isolation rules changed for anyone with symptoms, we had a carer come over who said they had a cold but that turned out to be Covid, and then Jackie tested positive.

"Boris should never have lifted restrictions around the vulnerable and should have supported independent care companies such as Jackie’s to ensure they had adequate testing available.

"They failed people who were self-isolating and vulnerable."

John added: "The care company failed Jackie, but it’s Boris Johnson’s fault for ending self-isolation."

Jayann and John went to extreme lengths to keep Jacqueline's house clean and sanitary to prevent her from catching Covid, hence their anger at the easing of restrictions which led to her getting infected.

“We had hand sanitising stations around the house and John used to go over at 7am, before the kids got up, to make sure the house had been bleached and disinfected," Jayann said.

“He would stay out the way while the carers were there and then clean the whole place again when they left.

"We also had a £300 grant from the council for PPE for anyone who entered Jacqueline's home, but that only lasted for so long.

“We had dodged Covid for over two years, she was fully vaccinated and we spent so much money on PPE… there was no excuse, yet she still managed to go the way she did."

And while the couple followed Government guidance, one question still haunts the pair.

Jayann said: "The thing that has bothered me more than anything is the thought of; what if we hadn’t opened her home? Would she still be here now?"

Jacqueline was rushed to hospital as her health deteriorated, but the couple believe that her treatment in hospital could have been affected by the perception of her health.

The pair believe that if Jacqueline had been younger or fitter, doctors would have been more optimistic about her outcome which would have had an impact on how they treated her.

Jayann said: "What makes me wonder, is if Jacqueline hadn't been immunocompromised, would they have treated her better? Would it have been different if she could have walked?

"There are lot of what ifs, but would they have done more? They said she wouldn't last until the morning but she was there all week."

The biggest source of anger for Jayann, for John, and for thousands of people across the country who lost loved ones and suffered mentally during the pandemic, concerns senior Government members flouting their own lockdown rules.

In the last fortnight, Boris Johnson has stepped down as an MP after an investigation into the Partygate scandal by the Privileges Committee, which he dubbed a "witch hunt".

Footage was also leaked of Tory aides dancing and laughing at a Christmas party called 'Jingle and Mingle', held on behalf of the unsuccessful Mayor of London candidate Shaun Bailey, during 2020 lockdown restrictions.

As more and more evidence is released of members of the Government brazenly breaking lockdown laws, the anger and grief of people who unwaveringly followed the rules grows.

Jayann said: "It makes me so angry. We are so disgusted by all the new information that is coming to light.

"The amount of families, including ourselves, who will never be able to make new memories with our loved ones… yet Boris can just pay a fine and continue with his day?

“It actually makes my chest hurt from the heartbreak we’re dealing with."

She went on to say: "I was going back and forth to hospital as a student nurse. I didn't see any of my family. Jacqueline didn't see her family for two years.

"We made our own bubbles and we had precautions in place. It felt like martial law with social distancing, I'd go to Sainsbury's every week and it felt like we were being watched.

"But they did that, they broke lockdown rules, with no conscience. They're in their own little bubble and they don't understand what they've done."

As the people who made the decisions that influenced the pandemic in Britain are hauled before the inquiry, there are questions over accountability, and whether the families who lost loved ones will get all of their questions answered.

John said: "Not a second of the day goes by when I don’t think of my mom and the hole she’s left will never be filled.

"It will never be the same and if I’m honest, I’ll never be me again. I do hope they are held accountable and take responsibility for it all, for each and every death and the pain to the families."

Jayann added: "This inquiry won't bring Jackie back. Think of all the lives that have been lost - and we were lucky to have time with her in the hospital.

"Think of all those people who couldn't see their loved ones. They went into hospital and they never came back."