A PENSIONER who died of the coronavirus had shared a hospital bay with a patient who had previously tested positive for the virus, an inquest heard.

John Delacoe died in Llandudno Hospital on April 25, three days after he was found to have contracted the virus. His inquest, held in Ruthin, was believed to be the first of any Covid-19 victim in North Wales.

In a statement read at the hearing his daughter Margaret Kenworthy said Mr Delacoe and his wife Ann, who lived in Llwyn Onn Road, on Llandudno’s Great Orme, both had mobility problems and on March 14 a carer found him lying on the floor of the lounge.

He was taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor where he underwent surgery for a fractured him. The operation was a success and he was transferred to Llandudno March 26, where he was confused and had a high temperature.

Mrs Kenworthy said the family was told on April 21 that cases of coronavirus had been confirmed in the hospital but it was not until the 24th that they learned that Mr Delacoe had tested positive on the 22n d.

Dr Swapna Alexander, a consultant geriatrician, said that the 88-year-old had shared a hospital bay with a patient who had tested for the virus.

No post-mortem examination was held but John Gittins, coroner for North Wales East and Central, accepted the cause of death as Covid-19 and frailty, with heart disease and infection following the hip surgery.

Recording a conclusion of accidental death, he said that Mr Delacoe had struggled with his mobility for some time and, regardless of the infection and Covid-19, his frailty meant he could not cope with the surgery.

“The fall on March 14 and the fracture he sustained was the catalyst,” he said.

Mr Delacoe trained as a refrigeration engineer in his 20s and spent most of his career working for JD Refrigeration in Colwyn Bay.

After his death his granddaughter Dr Sphie Kenworthy said the circumstances of his death were tragic because they had been unable to say goodbye in the way they would have liked.

She described him as “a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and uncle”.

Mr Delacoe, who was a keen DJ known locally as “Disco Del”, and his wife Ann would have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary this month.