FROM THE EDITOR: Why all our hearts break at tragic loss as cruel virus continues

The first child with Covid-19 has died at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

That is a sentence I hoped I would never have to write and I am sure it is one we all wished we wouldn’t have to read.

It is utterly heartbreaking and a stark reminder that every number we see on those graphs and tables is a person who leaves behind devastated family and friends.

Unless you have lost somebody you love during this pandemic, it is all too easy to forget because the figures are so high they are almost incomprehensible.

That makes it all the more important for us to keep reminding ourselves and keep reaching out to everybody who has suffered whether through loss, loneliness or the many other symptoms of lockdown.

No parents should ever outlive their child.

It breaks my heart to think what that mother and father must be going through and how those around them will be struggling to know how best to support them.

Nobody can make it better or ease their pain but this virus also stops us being able to express our feelings and show that we care, in the ways that come to us naturally.

Those dark days of people dying alone, unable to have relatives by their side, at the start of lockdown feel a long time ago.

So much has happened and our lives have changed to such an extraordinary extent.

And there are still many Sheffielders who can’t be with their own parents, are too afraid to step outdoors even to buy food and are in care homes away unable to be visited by anybody at all.

It is good that shops are opening and some children getting back to class … if it is safe and can stay that way.

But today’s sad news is the reminder that we just can’t afford to be complacent.

We also can’t stop caring about others and we can’t afford to put anything ahead of human life, no matter how old or young.

If you are lucky enough to be in a bubble with children, please give them some extra hugs tonight.

If you know of people who are still on their own, pick up the phone and tell them that you love them.

You simply can’t do that too much or too often, as one heartbroken family knows all too well today.