Twin youths, 24-years-old, from India’s Kerala state, have died of Covid in Meerut. Joefred and Ralfred were the children of Gregory Raymond Raphael and Soja, who are teachers of St Thomas School. The family resides in Meerut’s containment zone in UP state.
The twins marked their birthday on April 23rd. The same day, after celebrations, both showed symptoms of Covid. When their oxygen levels dropped, they were admitted to Anand Hospital within the city and put on ventilator support at the ICU.
On May 10, both turned Covid negative. But the infection had spread to their lungs and Joefred passed away three days later at 11 pm. Within hours, his twin passed away too. The parents had shielded Ralphred from the news of his twin’s death, but Ralphred had immediately sensed something was wrong and asked his mother what she was hiding.
The twins have left behind grieving family and friends. The eldest son of the family, Nelfred too tested positive for Covid-19.
The twins were born within a gap of three minutes. They studied BTech together at Karunya University in Coimbatore and got job placements, in similar companies, around the same time.
The youth – both computer engineers with jobs in Hyderabad – did almost everything together; they were working from home when they contracted the virus. Joefred had been working from home already and Ralfred came home on leave when he injured his arm. Their father Gregory Rafael told media persons that whatever happened to one would happen to the other too; they knew when Joefred died of Covid-19, Ralfred was unlikely to survive.
The family has been trying to find strength, holding prayer meetings. However, Raphael admitted to media that his faith was shaken. The twins were good souls and healthy six-footers who would massage their parents’ legs, liked being at home, doing chores and cooking.
“I hope the two are at peace, together.”
Please say a prayer for the family.
