Kate Garraway says she wants to show a photo of her husband Derek Draper in his hospital bed to anyone refusing to wear a mask to show the reality of coronavirus.
The Good Morning Britain presenter has been open and candid about her family’s heartbreaking ordeal ever since he was admitted to hospital with covid-19 in March.
Kate also had the virus and recovered, while Derek was gravely ill due to how the virus attacked his body and doctors put him into an induced coma for a number of weeks.
He has since been taken out of it and is awake, but Kate has kept viewers informed with her situation and explained that there is a long way to go and that Derek might never fully recover.
On Thursday’s episode of the ITV breakfast programme, Kate spoke out after a photo of Stanley Johnson was published showing him in a shop without a mask on.
Boris Johnson’s dad has since apologised for the incident, saying he is “extremely sorry for the slip up” while acknowledging that having been abroad for three weeks was not an excuse.
Kate, 53, told co-hosts Susanna Reid and Adil Ray that while she sympathises with people’s frustration surrounding the rules, she urged them to think twice before flouting them.
“I have huge sympathy with people who are fed up with it,” said Kate.
“I think if you haven't been directly touched by it, you haven't seen the devastation, but your life has been devastated, your livelihood, your ability to feel a sense of joy, then of course I think you're going to get frustrated.
"But, you know, it does make me tempted to show a picture of Derek in his current state, and say 'You don't want this in your life'. And you don't know who it will affect and how, so, you know, stick to [the rules]."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
