‘Captain Tom,’ 100-year-old veteran who raised millions for COVID relief, hospitalized on Sunday with the virus.
The following written content by David Aaro
Tom Moore, the 100-year-old British World War II veteran who captivated the nation by raising more than $40 million toward COVID-19 relief last year, was admitted to the hospital on Sunday with the virus.
Hannah Ingram-Moore announced in a statement that her father, known as “Captain Tom,” was taken to Bedford Hospital in the U.K. after he was having trouble breathing. She said he has been treated for pneumonia over the past few weeks and tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
“The medical care he has received in the last few weeks has been remarkable and we know that the wonderful staff at Bedford Hospital will do all that they can to make him comfortable and hopefully return home as soon as possible,” according to her statement on Twitter.
Ingram-Moore said her father was being treated in a ward, not in the intensive care unit.
The Army veteran, who uses a walker, set out to raise about $1,200 for those working on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis by walking laps around an 82-foot loop in his Bedfordshire garden during the early stages of the pandemic last April.
He eventually raised more than $40 million for the country’s health service — and in the process became a national hero.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had called Moore “a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus,” was among those to wish him a speedy recovery.
“My thoughts are very much with @CaptainTomMoore and his family,” Johnson wrote on Twitter. “You’ve inspired the whole nation, and I know we are all wishing you a full recovery.”
“The whole nation hopes you get well soon @captaintommoore. You’ve been an inspiration to us all throughout this crisis,” wrote Labour leader Keir Starmer. Moore had risen to the rank of captain while serving during World War II, and was given the honorary title of colonel after his fundraiser. Read more from Fox 13 Tampa Bay.
