Local bus operator CT4N has confirmed details of the cause of death of one their driving team who was taken ill suffering from symptoms of Coronavirus.
The driver was Andrew Howe, aged 48.
Andrew Grieve, Chairman of Nottingham Community Transport which owns the trading subsidiary CT4N, commented: “Andrew’s cause of death has now been confirmed as Coronavirus. We express our condolences to Andrew’s family at this difficult time. Both he and they are in our thoughts.”
Andrew Howe first joined the company in October 2016 becoming a well-respected member of the driving team and popular with his colleagues. His loss will be felt around the company for some time to come. There has already been the suggestion from his colleagues that CT4N names one of the vehicles in his memory.
The company has confirmed that Andrew last drove a bus on Friday 20th March 2020, which was just before the full lockdown was introduced by the Government. Unfortunately, Andrew was taken ill on Thursday 26th March whilst on annual leave, but he passed away whilst on his way to hospital.
Andrew Grieve said: “I would like to honour the heroic efforts of our key workers to keep essential bus services such as Easylink and Medilink operating at this difficult time. We all owe them a significant debt of gratitude. We continue to operate our services to all current health and safety guidelines on Coronavirus and monitor the situation on a daily basis.”
The death in Nottingham follows reports of the deaths of 14 public transport workers to COVID-19 in Greater London. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said “Transport staff are heroes of our city, doing vital work to keep London’s transport links open so nurses, doctors and other frontline workers can get to where they are needed most.”
“We can only echo Sadiq Khan’s comments here in Nottingham,” said Andrew Grieve. “CT4N is providing an essential frontline service for our NHS and care agencies, and we would like to pay tribute to all our drivers during these difficult times.”
