A 36-year-old woman died of suspicious Covid-19 a day after calling 999 at her apartment in south London, and was told to take care of herself at home.

Kayla Williams, a mother of three, died in Peckham on Saturday March 21, a day after paramedics were called to her house.

Her boyfriend, a refuse collector, Fabian Williams, said his wife was suffering from cough, high fever and he had extreme chest and stomach pain when he called Friday 999. Records suggest that paramedics have identified her as a potential case of Covid-19.

According to Williams,”I called 999 because my wife was breathless, she was crying and her stomach had pain. She was getting worse when I was talking to them and they told me to position her on the floor and keep her body flat.”

As the paramedic entered at 8.32am she got some tests completed, Williams said. “She told me that the doctor is not going to take her down, she is not a priority. She didn’t last for long and went to write her report outside and posted it through the windows.

The next day, Williams said the state of his wife had worsened. In the morning, he ran a bath for her and helped her get ready, before serving her some broth.He went into the front room where she had been sleeping after taking a brief break himself to see his wife sitting head down. “She’s now gone,” he said.

“And that’s what they asked me to do before, I laid her on the ground and rang 999 again and they asked me to place my palm on her chest to raise her stomach.”

A short time later three cars and an ambulance arrived at his house, he said. The crews attempted to save his wife but failed.

Williams, 49, said he was contacted by police later in his house, but he would not reach his apartment. “They were standing at the entrance, and when I told them to, they would not come in,” he said.

One hour later they were accompanied by a funeral officer. “We put on full outdoor forensic uniforms, with protective helmets, gloves and visors. They had even protected their shoes. This is what I was thinking;’ What’s going on? This is not right.

Williams said the undertaker wrapped sheeting around his wife’s neck, before securely covering her body and placing her in a body bag–all the precautions needed for death from an infectious disease.

A London ambulance service spokesman said: “We were called at an address in Peckham at 8.32am on Friday 20 March to find a person unwell. Our clinicians treated a patient and advised them to call back if their condition changed.

“The next day at 3.24pm we were called and shipped a range of services, with our first medications coming in less than seven minutes. Unfortunately the patient had died. At this time our sympathy is with relatives.

“We’re trying extremely hard to look after Londoners in these extraordinary days.”