99-year-old grandmother beats coronavirus in UK

Rita Reynolds, a 99-year-old grandmother of four, has become the oldest person to recover from coronavirus in the UK.

A resident of Bramhall in Stockport, Reynolds fell ill with Covid-19 on March 25 after testing positive for the virus, the Guardian reported.

She was kept comfortable at Abbeyfield care home in Bramhall near Stockport with the dedicated staff caring for her.

The care home staff later called in the doctor after Reynolds struggled to breathe, and she did not feel like eating or getting out of bed.

After her condition deteriorated, her family members were advised by doctors to expect the worst, according to the Guardian report.

However, she fought back and began to pull through against all expectations.

On Thursday, district nurses confirmed that she was recovering well.

The secret behind her recovery is all down to her love of biscuits and marmalade sandwiches, her family joked.

"I don't know how she got through it. I don't think she has ever eaten a vegetable or fruit. She lives on marmalade sandwiches and biscuits. But she's never smoked or really drank," Henry Phillips, one of Reynold's grandchildren, told Guardian.

"I was certain that was it for her. She's 99 so obviously she's frail – I didn't think there was any way she would recover from it. But she seems to have done it," he added.

Reynolds, a former driver for the Women's Air Force during the World War II, survived a bomb that landed outside her home in Liverpool by hiding under her kitchen table, Guardian reported.

Aged 21 then, she had refused to get in the air raid shelter because she wanted to read her book.

Born in the Isle of Man, Reynolds was married to Ralph, a scientist, and they had three children, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Reynolds is now looking forward to turning 100 in July this year.