A woman who lost both her parents to Covid-19 within 17 days has described her anguish to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, stating that seeing photos of a Downing Street drinks party on the day her mother died felt "cruel".
Rhona Arthur, representing Scottish Covid Bereaved, gave her testimony on Wednesday. The inquiry, led by Baroness Heather Hallett, is currently in its concluding week of hearings, focusing on the pandemic's impact within the care sector.
Ms Arthur told the inquiry her father William and mother Violet were both living in the same care home in Scotland when the pandemic began in 2020.
She explained her mother had moved into the care home following a long stay in hospital in 2017, and some time later her father had chosen to move into the same home.
“They were devoted to each other,” Ms Arthur said.
“They were a pair of bookends, and one was not very helpful without the other, so he chose to move into the nursing home beside her.”
Ms Arthur told the inquiry her father tested positive for Covid-19 on April 30, 2020 after developing a “slight temperature”, and was admitted to hospital the same day.
She recalled speaking with him on the phone that afternoon and that he was doing “quite well”, but within hours he began to deteriorate.
He died in hospital a few days later on May 3, 2020 aged 90.
She told the inquiry she had “no other option” but to break the news of his death to her mother over the phone, and a member of staff at the care home had sat with her to provide “emotional support”.
Her mother then tested positive for Covid-19 on May 9, and Ms Arthur said as she was going into the crematorium for her father’s funeral on May 18, the care home called to say her mother’s health was a “cause for concern”.
Two days later, she said, she got another call to say her mother’s oxygen levels had “dropped”, and the home had offered an end-of-life visit.
Rhona Arthur (Scottish Covid Bereaved) gave evidence to the Inquiry today.
— UK Covid-19 Inquiry (@covidinquiryuk) July 30, 2025
You can view it on the live stream (and via playback) through our YouTube channel 📺 now 👇https://t.co/okjTPwEwEK pic.twitter.com/kQUoujF9r2
She said she “paused” to pass on the news to other family members, but less than half-an-hour later the care home called again to say her mother had died, aged 93.
Asked about the impact the double bereavement had had on her and her family, Ms Arthur said: “For a long time, I described it as being like a house with the roof ripped off, because that’s just that kind of idea about how empty and devastating a double loss is.
“It’s very difficult to talk to people about.
“People say, ‘what happened to you during Covid?’ You cannot just say to somebody, ‘well, actually, both my parents died within a fortnight.’
“It’s a complete and utter and devastating blow in a conversation.”
She was also asked about the impact of seeing photos of a Downing Street drinks party held on the day her mother died.
“It just felt so cruel that we had done all the right things, that we had followed all the rules, down to the funerals, to then see that,” Ms Arthur said.
“And of course, that picture is regularly reprinted, which means that it just brings that terrible day back all the time.”
The inquiry continues.
Freed hostage Emily Damari accuses Starmer of being on wrong side of history
Move to recognise Palestinian statehood is not gesture politics, says minister
UK will recognise Palestine in September unless Israel ‘takes steps’ over Gaza
Full list of population change for local areas in England and Wales
Broadband provider fined over giving inaccurate caller location data in 999 calls
Airlines battle to recover operations after air traffic control glitch
