Eight-month pregnant nurse Mary, who died of coronavirus but whose baby was saved, lost her father 'to virus' just two weeks ago

Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, pictured left, died after undergoing an emergency caesarean to save her baby. A family friend now says her father, Stephen, pictured right, also died from Covid-19 a fortnight earlier. The news has left Mary's step-mother, and Stephen's widow, Elizabeth Agyapong, reeling from the double tragedy. Speaking from the bedroom window of her terraced home in Wellingborough, Northants, she said: 'My head is hurting. My husband died and then my daughter. I have lost two lovely people in my life.'

This is in line with current guidance, but has sparked renewed calls from campaigners to not allow pregnant women to work on the frontline.

Now a family friend has said Mary's father, Stephen, also died from suspected coronavirus just a fortnight earlier.

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Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, 28, pictured left, died on Sunday after undergoing an emergency caesarean to deliver and save her baby daughter. A family friend now says her father Stephen, pictured right, also died from suspected coronavirus just a fortnight earlier

The news has left Mary's step-mother, and Stephen's widow, Elizabeth Agyapong, reeling from the double tragedy.

Speaking from the bedroom window of her terraced home in Wellingborough, Northants, she said: 'My head is hurting. My husband died and then my daughter. I have lost two lovely people in my life.'

Neighbours of Mrs Agyapong also spoke of their heartache: 'What she's gone through is too much for any person. First her partner and then her daughter in quick succession.

'They are a good family and I'm gutted by what happened to her daughter. It is so sad.'

Another neighbour said: 'I didn't know Mary but I feel so sorry for the whole family.

'To be looking forward to a birth and then to get a death of someone so young and vibrant as Mary is truly horrible.

'I'm really shocked at the amount of nurses who are dying.'

Her brother Charles Agyapong told MailOnline: 'We are now mourning for two members of our family – first my father and now Mary. It is a very hard time for us. We need time to grieve.'

Another relative added: 'Stephen passed away last week. We are all very sad.'

A close family friend paid tribute to Mary on social media on Sunday, just hours after her death.

Phyllis Agyekum wrote: 'My lovely young girl and University mate. May your perfect soul rest in perfect peace. You were a kind hearted and ambitious young lady.

'You were a daughter to us all very supportive and serviceable who respect and above all, a lover of God.

'You lost your father 10 days ago and you are also gone today. What a shock how can a father and a daughter die within 10 days.

'My dear daughter may the Almighty God save your soul in heaven till we all meet again,

'RIP Mary Agyapong a wife and a mother of two children.'

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Colleagues at Luton and Dunstable Hospital said Mary (pictured) was 'a fabulous nurse, and a great example of what we stand for'

Stephen's best friend, Johnson Osei, 41, said: 'We all used to live together in Britain before we bought our own houses.

'Mary's father brought her to Britain when she was a teenager to finish her education.

'She went to school in Wellingborough before she went to Uni in Luton to study nursing.

'She was just like her Dad, a really happy person who would laugh a lot.'

Mr Osei, an HGV technician, said Mary's father Stephen died two weeks ago.

He had been a teacher in Ghana but took on manual work after coming to Europe.

Mr Osei said Stephen suffered from high blood pressure and had fallen victim to Covid-19.

'It is a tragedy for the family,' added Mr Osei. 'Mary already had a little baby so there are now two without a mother.

'I will always remember what fun we had together. Both Stephen and Mary were great company. '

He said that Elizabeth was Mary's step mother and her natural mother lived in the Ghanaian city of Agogo.

Mary was eight months pregnant when she died and stopped working at 28 weeks, as permitted in official guidance, which hospital bosses said they followed. 

However, it has led to renewed calls for a rethink, with campaigners insisting: 'All pregnant women shouldn't be on the frontline.'

Organisations supporting pregnant healthcare workers across the UK have said hundreds were told they must work - sometimes without PPE - even though they feared for the lives of their unborn children.

Joeli Brearley, founder of campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, said: 'The death of Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong could have been prevented. 

'A child will now grow up without her mother - this tragedy could have been prevented.' 

Campaign groups have written to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists urging it to change its guidance. 

This currently says women who are less than 28 weeks pregnant can continue in non-Covid patient-facing roles if necessary.