I’m working in communities where the cries of the newly widowed haunt high rise flats – this is the reality of coronavirus

Too many have no choice but to suffer alone. We need to make everyone aware of community services for those who need them most, particularly elderly people living alone, families with young children and the disabled

This weekend has been very difficult for my borough, especially for the residents of a high-rise block of flats who are coming to terms with the loss of a neighbour everyone knew. A young mother with her own young children and ill partner had heard her neighbour’s agonising cry for help when her husband was dying. She had shouted to her neighbour through the balcony window to call for an ambulance, but her husband passed away before the ambulance arrived.

The young mother told me: “Those moments of listening to a woman cry alone over her dead husband’s body; it was a lonely and soulful cry I will not forget. She was left alone coping with the loss of a loved one and we could only stay in our homes and listen to her cries when the ambulance crew left. I tried to console her through concrete walls and while I could not hug her, my words at least reached her.”

A while later, families, children and the elderly watched from their windows as figures dressed in white entered the building to remove the body of their neighbour, leaving his widow to grieve alone.

Even though everyone remained in social isolation, news of this first death quickly ripped through the rest of the block and across the estate, but it brought the community together; mobilising to help each other.

That day, after a long wait in a supermarket, I delivered food to an elderly woman on the estate who was so desperate not to be alone, even though she was surrounded by flats and houses that were all occupied; so close and yet so far. There was not a soul to be seen on an estate of some 500 residents.

Hundreds of other neighbours began envisioning how they would cope with their own losses. What if it were one of their sons, daughters, a friend, a wife or a husband? How would they deal with the inevitability of future loss in their community?

I alerted the council and housing association and together we began to devise a plan to address issues of support, sanitation and listening to residents’ concerns. It will be a difficult task but, in this crisis, it is absolutely crucial that everyone works together.

As of 9am on 29 March 2020, Public Health England reported 184 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Tower Hamlets, out of a population of 317,705.

Although statistics are essential in order to monitor and fight the coronavirus war, they do not tell the incredibly human stories of suffering, loss and hardship.

Dr Mohsin Khan, vice-chair of Liberal Democrats Race Equality Campaign said after a weekend on night shift: “As a hospital doctor, I'm hearing first-hand how front-line colleagues worry about keeping themselves and their loved ones safe. And I'm seeing how hard it is for people in isolation. Knowing that you're ‘vulnerable’ and worrying about what could happen is a major source of stress for many. But what's heart-warming is how so many health staff, volunteers, shopkeepers, taxi drivers and everyone else in society are going the extra mile to check on each other and help in these testing times.”

This is a time to acknowledge and thank the frontline workers and the incredible people behind the scenes in every community, town and city who are putting their own health and lives at risk to help others and ensure that, as far as possible, the needs of the most vulnerable are met.

We all have a responsibility to prevent their jobs from becoming even more difficult and emotional than they already are by heeding government advice and only leaving home when necessary. In the meantime, we must continue to make everyone aware of the community services available for those who are most isolated, particularly elderly people living alone, families with young children and the disabled.

Most of us have access to a telephone, so even if we are unable to visit someone in person, we can call them daily to check that they are well and to let them know that they are not alone; it is much more personal than a text message or a post on social media.

Regardless of how isolated we are, we can all do something to help.

Rabina Khan is a Liberal Democrat councillor in Shadwell Ward