An inquest has concluded today (October 14) that a 49-year-old Glastonbury woman died of Covid-19 in April while leaving her home to be transferred to a mental health unit.

Annette Davies, who lived in Hood Close, died on April 9 at her home address, with senior Somerset coroner Tony Williams ruling that she died of natural causes, with the primary cause being Covid-19 on the back of a history of pulmonary embolic disease which would have caused previous damage to her lungs.

The inquest heard that Mrs Davies, who had worked as a receptionist, had a history of mental health issues, but had been stable for 12 years on her medication.

However, Mrs Davies and her husband Greg started showing symptoms of coronavirus in late March, which led to a deterioration of her mental condition, as she was worried about what might happen to them if they got worse.

By early April both Mr and Mrs Davies had been feeling better, but Mrs Davies had stopped taking her medication and was watching Covid-19 news stories on the television on a loop, obsessing about the virus.

On April 6, Mr Davies contacted the local mental health home treatment team, but the condition of Mrs Davies worsened, so on April 8 a visit was arranged for an assessment to take place so she could be moved to a mental health unit.

It was agreed by the professionals in attendance that Mrs Davies should be sectioned under the Mental Health Act, but concerns were raised over her Covid-19 symptoms and the private ambulance crew brought in to transfer her did not have face masks or PPE suitable for close contact with moving a patient.

It was agreed they should return the next day, April 9, to move Mrs Davies to a suitable mental health ward, while in full PPE gear.

Mrs Davies had not eaten for three days prior to this due to her mental health condition, and was only drinking minimal fluids, so on their arrival on April 9 the ambulance crew went to fetch her a chair to carry her down to the waiting vehicle.

She was able to stand from an upstairs bed where she had been lying and with help was walking towards the bedroom door when she bent over and stopped breathing. After many attempts to revive her, the was pronounced dead at 5.12pm on April 9.

A post mortem was carried out by Dr John Mitchard from Bath Royal United Hospital, who concluded that Mrs Davies was infected by Covid-19 at the time of her death.

He said that the primary cause of death was the virus, with pulmonary embolic disease as a contributing factor.

In concluding the inquest with the verdict of death by natural causes, Mr Williams said that no one involved in transferring Mrs Davies on April 9 could have predicted her death from her Covid-19 symptoms at that time.