Hello I'm Nulam McGovrin here on the BBC World Service.

Six months after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic,

this is BBC OS conversations,

remembering those lost to COVID-19.

Since March, we have been bringing people together

to share stories about the impact of coronavirus,

and this special edition features listeners messages

from around the globe as they recall the richness of the lives that are no longer

with us. I lost my 37 year old son. Derek had cerebral palsy. Prior to the

pandemic, Derek took part in his first fashion show along with myself and his 98 year old grandmother and I must say he looked

quite dapper. The Chinese health authorities say they are investigating the

source of a mysterious viral pneumonia in the central city of Wuhan, which

is so far infected 44 people.

The first reports from China about this mystery illness appeared on the final day of 2019 and so the new year was also the start

of a new world. Within 24 hours the World Health Organization readied itself for an emergency and 12 days later

China shared the genetic sequence of a new disease that would later be called COVID-19.

It was caused by a highly infectious coronavirus that was to bring death, disruption and economic

devastation across the globe.

The WHO declared an official pandemic on March 11th and six months later

almost 30 million have been infected and close to a million have died. The

sheer scale is overwhelming. But behind each number is an

individual and each of those individuals left behind someone who wants to

...