DEATHS....COVID-19: DEATHS ZEESHAN AHMED Rajesh Jayaseelan RAJESH JAYASEELAN
Uber driver Rajesh Jayaseelan, 45, died in Northwick Park Hospital on April 11 after testing positive for Covid-19. His longtime friend Sunil Kumar said the father-of-two first started showing symptoms of the dis- ease shortly after a trip to Heathrow International Airport.
Mr Jayaseelan, who lived in Harrow, west London, worked as a driver for the ride- hailing app for the last few years. His wife and two sons, aged four and six, still live in India, so they communicated with Mr Jayaseelan via video call as his condition deteriorated.
Mr Kumar said. “I managed to organise video calls to his family and I got to see him on video as well. A few hours later, the hos- pital called me to say he had died.”
Mr Kumar said information provided to him by Uber showed that Mr Jayaseelan made a trip to Heathrow Airport on March 25. Shortly afterwards, he started to show symptoms and was advised to stay at home and self-isolate. He drove himself to hospi- tal on April 3 after his condition worsened.
According to Mr Kumar, Rajesh had been forced to leave his rented home because of his profession, and had to sleep in his car before he managed to find temporary accommodation. In a tribute to his friend, Mr Kumar said: “He was down to earth and very humble, he would go out of his way to help people.”
Mr Kumar has set up a fundraiser on the GoFundMe website to help Mr Jayaseelan’s family, as the driver was the “sole bread- winner” of the family. The fund has so far raised more than £7,000.
If you would like to donate to the fundraiser for Mr Jayaseelan’s family then please visit:
www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-the- family-of-rajesh-jayaseelan
MAY 2020
Zeeshan Ahmed, 27, passed away at St. George’s Hospital on 16 April. He started to feel symptoms of the virus from April 1 and began to self-isolate at home before his health became critical and he was taken to the hospital on 10th April and put on a ven- tilator for six days. Although he is reported to have had underlying health problems his death is being blamed on complications arising from coronavirus.
Taxi union, United Private Hire Drivers, said in a statement: “Zeeshan Ahmed, a fellow London Uber driver passed away today from Coronavirus. He had two very young kids. Our deepest condolences to family.”
GREATER PROTECTION
Many taxi drivers remain unaware of the precautions they should take to prevent the spread of the virus. They are forced to work since they don’t have enough money to sustain their families. While some have applied for Universal Credit, they are still working because it will take at least a month for them to get their payments. Others continue to work because they are not citizens of the UK and cannot access state funds.
MPs have started adding their support for greater protection. Labour MP Nadia Whit- tome said on Twitter: “Uber and private hire drivers haven’t been given PPE, not even a drop of hand sanitiser, as they provide essential services to NHS staff. They’re dying. The government must act to prevent further avoidable deaths.”
Zeeshan Ahmed
ZAHID PERVAIZ Father-of-four Zahid Pervaiz, 65, is the lat- est driver to die after picking up a passenger he believed was infected by the disease from Heathrow Airport in mid March. Mr Pervaiz, from High Wycombe, died in intensive care on Friday 17 April away from his wife, three daughters and son. He had saved all his life for a trip to Mecca that he was due to take the follow- ing month.
His best friend Rashid Arshad said Mr Per- vaiz drove into London frequently but had scaled back his work to his local area. “He was a very good man who helped others and wanted to serve God in the best way he could,” Mr Arshad said. “This is a very sad and tragic thing to happen.”
London Assembly member Caroline Russell said: “The issue is that the Government needs to have a risk assessment of the sit- uation with the virus and private hire drivers. There is a need for there to be clear guidelines on whether it is safe for drivers of private hire cabs and for the Govern- ment to take responsibility.”
Uber told MailOnline that it had begun dis- tributing sanitiser, face masks and other PPE to drivers. A spokesman said: “Active drivers diagnosed with Covid-19 or asked to self-isolate by a public health authority will receive financial assistance for up to 14 days.
“This is in addition to free AXA insurance protection, which covers sickness, injury, maternity and paternity payments for all drivers in the UK.
“Uber has also introduced measures to ensure that every driver can access the PPE they need for free to drive safely on the Uber app, if they choose to do so.”
Yaseen Asleem, head of the United Private Hire Drivers Association whose organisa- tion represents drivers in eight cities, said PPE would save lives.
“It is impossible to keep two meters if you are driving passengers and drivers are unnecessarily dying. They could be saved with proper PPE and Government help.
Zahid Pervaiz
“Many of our drivers cannot afford to give up driving and stay at home. Many are from BAME backgrounds where the ethos is to provide for their families.”
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