Indians, especially doctors, are represented disproportionately among the 150,000 people who have died from Covid in the UK, making it the first country in Europe to reach this grim milestone.

For example, Poornima Nair, 56 — originally from Kerala she moved to the UK in 1994 and eventually became a general physician at the Station View medical centre in Bishop Auckland, County Durham — died on 12 May, 2020, the first lady doctor to succumb to Covid.

Her husband, Shlokarth Balupuri, a surgeon, paid tribute to his wife: “We got married in 1990, giving us 30 years of blissful married life. Her death has left a void in my life that I will not be able to ever fill. I know, however, she lives in my heart and will always guide me and my son through the remainder of our lives.”

Their son, Varun Nair Balupuri, 26, a data scientist, promised: “Although she is gone, I will forever be walking in the warm footsteps she laid for me…. My mother was kind, caring and loving, to her family, friends and patients, as evidenced by the hundreds of tributes and memorials to her.”

Indian doctors on the frontline made the ultimate sacrifice: Jitendra Rathod, 58, cardiac surgeon, University Hospital of Wales, died on April 6, 2020; Krishan Arora, 57, GP in Croydon, south London, died on April 15, 2020; Manjeet Singh Riyat, 52, consultant, Royal Derby Hospital, died on April 20, 2020; and so on.

On March 26, 2020, Pooja Sharma, 32, a pharmacist in East Sussex at Eastbourne District General Hospital, died 24 hours after her father, Sudhir Sharma, 61, an immigration officer at Heathrow airport.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) commented: “We can see death rates for most ethnic minorities are higher compared to White ethnic groups. After accounting for where people live and social and economic factors (including people’s jobs, education and housing conditions), the gap lessens but is still significant.”

On Saturday, a further 313 deaths pushed the UK toll to 150,057.

Recognising the “terrible toll”, Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged: “Each and every one of those is a profound loss to the families, friends and communities affected and my thoughts and condolences are with them….”

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the council of the British Medical Council, who has often spoken about the high toll among Indians to The Telegraph, said: “Today marks a sombre and deeply tragic milestone in our fight against this devastating virus. Each of the 150,000 who have died has left loved ones and friends behind, and our thoughts and sympathies go out to them for their loss. We must not play down the impact of omicron as a mild illness, especially with increasing numbers of patients being hospitalised.”

The UK becomes the seventh country to pass the 150,000 milestone, following the US, Brazil, India, Russia, Mexico and Peru.