A 55-year-old UK-based Ghanaian bus driver, Kenneth Yeboah, has died after contracting the novel coronavirus.

Mr Yeboah, a father of three who worked for Tower Transit out of the Lea Valley Interchange bus garage, is one of the 12 public transport workers who have so far lost their lives to Covid-19.

According to his wife, Charlotte Yeboah, her husband Kenneth, was also a deacon at a church in Dagenham and had been “lively and bubbly”, leading worship on stage a little over a week before being admitted to hospital.

She indicated that her husband reported to the Newham Hospital on March 24, and died a week a later on his 55th birthday April 1, although he had no underling ailment except high blood pressure.

Recounting the incident, the 51-year old widow, said her husband didn’t think he was critically ill and only checked in at the hospital after the family compelled him to do so.

He was subsequently placed in isolation and had to communicate with his family via phone, he then experienced difficulties in breathing and was placed on a ventilator.

But his health continued to deteriorate within a short period and eventually succumbed to the infectious disease, after being placed on dialyses due to kidney challenges.

“The last time I spoke to him I said, ‘just keep fighting’. In the end he was put on dialysis because his kidneys stopped working. It was terrible.”

Paying tribute to her husband, she said: “He was an amazing singer who was the life and soul of the church. He was a wonderful father and husband, an incredible family man. We all miss him so much. People have been calling us from around the world. He touched so many people’s lives. The response has been very moving.”

She then cautioned the public to keep to social distancing, highlighting the reality of the Covid-19 and its impact, hence the interview and release of the photos.

The widow bemoaned the inadequate health protection given to her late husband and his colleagues and felt authorities could have done better.

“I had been worried about him going to work. I even had to buy him hand sanitiser to take to work. He came back from a shift and was feeling dizzy,” she recounted. “His boss told him to take a couple of days off. He wasn’t feeling too bad, but then things started to get worse.”

Meanwhile, the pastor of the church, Michael De-Heer, has praised the deceased for his commitment to helping others.

He added that Mr Yeboah had been a member of the church for two decades and always availed himself to support others.

“Nobody could doubt the man. He was a kind, friendly person who would speak to everyone. People would look to him always for support.”

So far five Ghanaians have died abroad due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

One in the United States of America, two in Italy, one in Denmark and one in the United Kingdom