Nearly 5,000 people lost their loves to Covid-19 in the North East in 2020.
Every one of them someone's son or daughter, the true human cost the global pandemic has had on our region is today laid bare.
New figures released by the Office for National Statistics show there was a total of 4,968 deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, between the start of the outbreak and January 1.
The majority of those deaths, 2,829, took place in hospital, while 1,896 were in care homes.
There were also 169 deaths recorded at home, 35 in hospices and 26 in other 'communal establishments', which include prisons, halls of residence, hotels, and sheltered accommodation.
Behind each of these numbers lies a precious life and a heartbroken family.
Those who have succumbed to the cruel virus in our region include "bubbly" Elaine Saddler, from Cramlington, who died at home while self-isolating.
She was found dead on December 18 after her ex-partner became worried that supplies he'd left for her earlier that week had not been taken inside, and called police.
Elaine, who had worked at the The Lord of The Manor pub, in Cramlington, until lockdown, had always loved her home town, having lived there since she was eight, and was loved by many locals.
Her brother, Alan, today told the Chronicle he believes people have become numb to the harrowing Covid death figure.
The 46-year-old said: "Those figures are all someone's life. That's almost 5,000 families that are going through what we are, and that's really sad.
"There's a lot of people that still don't take it seriously. I think people that don't know anyone who has died don't think that the virus is here.
The new figures also reveal that Covid deaths in the region rose at the end of 2020 as the UK began battling a 'second peak' of the virus.
In the week ending January 1, 183 people died Covid-19-related deaths in the North East.
That compares to 181 the previous week, and 168 the week before that.
In the most recent week, deaths related to Covid-19 made up 30% of the total 617 deaths recorded in the area.
The numbers for the week ending January 1 include 138 deaths in hospitals, a rise from 121 a week before, and 36 deaths in care homes, down from 52.
All the figures are based on the number of deaths registered up to January 9, where Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate.
