THIS Friday, March 26, will mark one year since Ann Best was the first person to die of Covid-19 in Fermanagh.

Mrs. Best, 72, had been complaining of severe pains before a doctor recommended that, given the outbreak of Covid-19 and her underlying health conditions, she needed medical attention.

Tragically, over 24 hours later, her condition worsened and she died in the isolation ward at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) without ever seeing her husband again.

The last time Tom Best saw his beloved wife was when she was placed in an ambulance at their home in Derrylin.

Mr. Best could not even attend her funeral as he had to self-isolate for 14 days, due to the newly introduced restrictions which were put in place.

“It’s breaking my heart – it’s just breaking my heart that I couldn’t be there when she died, or at the funeral,” an emotional Mr. Best told The Impartial Reporter newspaper last March.

He now returns regularly to his wife’s graveside as he, and the many others bereaved by the coronavirus, come to terms with the pain and heartache that the virus has visited upon this community.

One year later, March 2021 has now seen 83 people in the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area die due to Covid-19, according to the Department of Health.

NISRA has a figure of 100 Covid-19 registered deaths in the area, while across Northern Ireland, the number of Covid-related deaths registered up to March 12 stood at 2,871.

For quite a while, the Fermanagh and Omagh district was the least affected area in Northern Ireland, in terms of Covid-positive cases and deaths.

The Department of Health recorded 11 deaths during the first wave; however, last December alone there were 14 deaths in the Council area.

From the beginning of January, 2021 to the last recorded death locally, on February 20, there have been 35 Covid deaths in the Council area.

These came at a time when the entire Health Trust was swamped with Covid admissions, forcing a cancellation of elective surgeries, hospitals running above bed capacity, and ICU capacity stretched to its very limit.

Dr. Terence McManus, a Consultant Respiratory Physician at the SWAH’S Covid Ward, described the most recent surge as the “most challenging time of my entire career”.

He said: “It was like taking the busiest day from last Winter, and repeating it every day for three months. Even though everyone was working incredibly hard, they were still offering to help others in any way they could.”

Thankfully, the beginning of the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccines, alongside the strict lockdown from Christmas, has seen a big reduction in numbers of positive cases and deaths, locally.

Fermanagh and Omagh has now had no Covid-related deaths in mroe than a month, while it also currently has the lowest seven-day positive case rate in Northern Ireland.

In a year when lockdown and isolation became the new normal, the communities of Fermanagh showed a true resilience, and the will to help each other was evident.

Communities and organisations rallied to help the most vulnerable or to keep some sort of connection between people in a very disconnected world.

Food deliveries, fundraisers, and virtual get-togethers were just a few of the ways that people contributed to keeping in touch.

Now, a year on from the outbreak of the pandemic, and from Mrs. Best’s tragic death, as the country regards the vaccination programme that is continuing at pace, the return of students to classrooms, and the easing of restrictions coming into effect from April 1, it is hoped that dark days are behind us.

However, as Dr. McManus said, the public still has a vital part in ensuring we don’t return to the days when Covid overwhelmed society.

His pragmatic voice of experience warned: “We need the public to help us, in order for us to have the resources and staffing available to help their loved ones in need of treatment and care.

“Everyone has a role to play. If we all continue to follow public health advice, it will be the sooner we can return to normality.”