SPECTATOR wants to take this opportunity to applaud the bravery of a family who amid their grief wanted to warn others about the dangers of the coronavirus and the desperate need to stay at home.

It was obviously such a hugely traumatic event for the relatives of the gentleman from the Bedale area who was elderly and in remission from cancer but had many years of life ahead.

And because covid-19 is such an infectious disease the family could not be with him at this most difficult of times.

But what a tribute they paid him, to pass on the vital messages that everyone in the country needs to be taking notice of. So many of us as the niece of the gentleman said never think it will be us, never dream that this awful virus will reach our rural areas and if it did it wouldn't be us that gets it.

So we owe a debt of gratitude to them for sparing a thought for the rest of the world while theirs was falling apart. And that debt carries on to the NHS workers who have battled on in the face of this terrible situation to do what they can to alleviate the suffering of victims and try to help them overcome the disease.

It has certainly brought out the best and the worst in people and as journalists we are faced with the task of representing both sides of that and documenting what is happening across society. So to have a family prepared to share their terrible experience to act as a real message of the enormity of just what we are all facing is humbling.

In troubled times it's the reactions of people that count for the most and with so many families affected it takes courage to be prepared to speak out.