A MUM, dad and brother who had refused to get the vaccine died of Covid within a week of each other after catching the virus at a family dinner.
Francis Goncalves’s brother Shaul, 40, dad Basil, 73, and mum Charmagne, 65, fell ill on the weekend of July 10, after meeting for a meal.
(L-R) Family members Shaul, Francis, Basil and CharmagneCredit: MEDIA WALES
Francis (R) fears that Shaul (L) and his family caught Covid from his dad after he became infected in hospitalCredit: MEDIA WALES
They all died within two weeks of their symptoms starting, with Francis believing they caught Covid from Basil after his dad picked it up in hospital a few days earlier.
Francis, from Cardiff, said his family, who had moved to Portugal, hadn’t been jabbed as they had been scared by anti-vaxxer misinformation.
He urged people to get vaccinated and not be put off by conspiracy theorists.
Francis told Wales Online: “Dad went to hospital on July 6 for kidney stones, we think he picked Covid up there.
FAMILY TRAGEDY
“On Thursday, July 8, my parents had dinner at my brother’s apartment he shares with his girlfriend and they started to feel very ill that weekend.
“On the Monday, my brother’s girlfriend said Shaul could feel something was wrong.
“He said he’d never felt anything like it, that he felt like he was filled with weight and that he was tired. He decided to get a test for Covid and they tested positive.
“My parents were really ill at the time as well. They went through to the hospital and I had a text from my father that afternoon saying they’ve been admitted into the hospital because they have both tested positive.
“That was on July 12.”
They got caught up in a lot of the anti-vaccination propaganda that’s going around. It preys on people who are afraid and they fall into the trap
Francis Goncalves
His dad was rushed to ICU two days later, and his brother and mum soon deteriorated.
Shaul died in the early hours of July 18 as Francis was waiting for his Covid test results so he could fly to Portugal to see his family.
Francs said his brother was the “healthiest person” he knew and believes the vaccine would have saved his life.
He said: “If he wasn’t working out in the gym or running, he was going on walks.
“He hadn’t drunk in 15 years and had a plant-based diet.”
‘TERRIBLE’
The family moved from South Africa to Cardiff in 2015 before Francis’s parents and brother moved to Portugal a year later.
Francis’s father, Basil, died on July 20, with his mum – who had underlying health issues, including an autoimmune disease – put into an induced coma.
Francis said: “They allowed me to go and see her which was already a sign that things weren’t going well and I had to dress up in full PPE.
“Then on the Saturday, JuIy 24, I received a phone call from the doctor saying they were in a situation where they had tried everything and the next couple of hours would be critical.
Later that evening, I received a call to say she had passed away.
Francis Goncalves
“Later that evening, I received a call to say she had passed away.”
The family were buried at a cemetery in Lisbon in an allocated section for Covid victims, which is marked off.
Francis added: “They said the entire time during Covid they’d never had three bodies brought in together from the same family.
“I asked about exhuming the bodies at a later date and moving them somewhere outside a dedicated Covid zone, as it didn’t represent my family.
“But they said that unfortunately not knowing enough about Covid there is no intention of moving them ever. It was really terrible.”
Heartbroken Francis said his family had got “caught up in a lot of the anti-vaccination propaganda that’s going around” as he pleaded with people to get vaccinated.
Francis said: “It preys on people who are afraid and they fall into the trap.
“The message I want to get out is why would the government want to hurt you by giving you a vaccine?
“What is the purpose behind it? I’ve spoken to so many people who are terrified of the vaccine and it costs lives.”
Basil and Charmagne died of Covid in Portugal, leaving their son Francis heartbrokenCredit: MEDIA WALES
Charmagne and Shaul were buried in an allocated Covid section of a cemetery in Lisbon alongside BasilCredit: MEDIA WALES