One year later: Family of first nurse who died from Covid-19 in the Western Cape opens up about life without her

They’ve spent the past few months trying to pick up the pieces of their lives, but this month has opened raw wounds for the Benjamin family. March marks a year since the deadly outbreak of Covid-19 hit SA – and so far, more than 1,5 million people have been infected and 50 600 have died.

Petronella Benjamin from Eerste River near Cape Town was at the forefront of the pandemic as one the many brave frontline workers who risked their lives daily.

But her life ended abruptly when she succumbed to the disease she’d worked so hard to shield her patients against.