Covid-19: Twin brothers, both techies, die together after 24th birthday

印度双胞胎兄弟染上新冠离世，刚过24岁生日，均为IT工作者

MEERUT: Gregory Raymond Raphael remembers the day clearly. April 23, 1997. The delivery, doctors said, had been successful and his wife Soja was fine. Heart beating with joy, he had rushed to the hospital. The babies, twins, looked exactly alike. The young parents named them Joefred Varghese Gregory and Ralfred George Gregory. Having lived a life where they did almost everything together — both chose computer engineering, both had jobs in Hyderabad — they caught the deadly fever the same day, on April 24. Last week, after struggling with Covid, they died together, hours after one another.

密拉特：格雷戈里·雷蒙德·拉斐尔清楚地记得那天。1997年4月23日，医生说，分娩很成功，他的妻子索娅平安。他高兴得心怦怦直跳，急忙赶往医院。是双胞胎，看起来一模一样。这对年轻的父母给他们起名为乔弗雷德和拉尔弗雷德。他们生活在一起，几乎做任何事情都在一起——都选择了计算机工程专业，都在海得拉巴有工作——他们在同一天，也就是4月24日染上了致命的热病。上周，在与新冠病毒抗争后，他们双双离世，相隔几个小时。

Raphael said he almost knew that if his sons had to make it, they would come home together. Or they wouldn’t. “Whatever happened to one, it happened to the other,” he said. “That’s how it was since their birth. I had told my wife after we got news that Jeofred had died that Ralfred won’t return home alone either. They died on May 13 and May 14, hours apart.”

拉斐尔说，他知道果他的儿子们能活下来，他们一定会一起回家，或者他们都回不来。“不管其中一个发生了什么，另一个也会遭遇同样的命运，”他说道。“从他们出生起就是这样。在得知乔弗雷德去世的消息后，我告诉我妻子，拉尔弗雷德也怕是回不来了。他们分别于5月13日和14日去世，相隔数小时。”

He said, “The twins had a lot of plans for us. They wanted to give us a better life. As teachers we have struggled much to bring up the children well and they wanted to give us back, everything from money to happiness. Before they died, they were planning to leave for Korea and then perhaps Germany for work. I don’t know why god punished us like this.” The Raphaels have a third son, the eldest one, Nelfred.

他说:“两兄弟为我们做了很多计划。他们想让我们过上更好的生活。作为老师，我们努力把孩子们培养好，他们想回报我们，从金钱到幸福。在他们去世前，他们计划去韩国，然后可能去德国工作。我不知道神为什么要这样惩罚我们。”这个家庭还有一个儿子，长子奈尔弗雷德。

Residents of Meerut’s Cantonment area, the family initially treated the brothers at home, thinking the fever would subside. But it didn’t. “We purchased an oxmeter. When their oxygen level dropped to 90, doctors advised us to take them to hospital. We admitted them to a private one on May 1,” Gregory said. Their first report had confirmed the young men were Covid-positive. But after a few days, their second RT-PCR test report came negative.

他们是密拉特营地地区的居民，这家人最初在家里治疗兄弟俩，认为高烧会退。但没有。“我们买了血氧计。他们的氧气含量下降到90时，医生建议我们带他们去医院。我们在5月1日把他们送入一家私立医院。”他们的第一份检测报告证实是新冠肺炎阳性。但几天后，他们的第二次RT-PCR检测报告呈阴性。

“Doctors were planning to move them from the Covid ward to the normal ICU. However, I requested the hospital to monitor their health for two more days in the Covid ward. Then, suddenly, on the evening of May 13, my wife got the call. Our world crashed.”

“医生们计划将他们从新冠病房转移到重症监护室。然而，我请求医院在新冠病房多监护两天。然后，在5月13日的晚上，我妻子突然接到了一个电话。我们的世界崩 溃了。”

Ralfred had made his last phone call to his mother. “He spoke from the hospital bed,” said Gregory, his voice shaking. “He told his mother that he was recovering and enquired about Joefred’s health. By then Joefred had died. So we made up a story. We told him we had to shift him to a hospital in Delhi. But Ralfred knew instinctively. He told his mother, ‘You are lying’.”

拉尔弗雷德给他母亲打了最后一个电话。“他是在病床上说的，声音在颤抖。他告诉母亲自己正在康复，并询问乔弗雷德的健康状况。那时乔弗雷德已经去世了。所以我们编了个故事。我们告诉他我们得把他转移到德里的一家医院。但拉尔弗雷德本能地知道一切。他对母亲说:‘你在撒谎’。”

以下是印度时报读者的评论：译者：Jessica.Wu

Rationalized

This is such a terrible story. No parents ever want to outlive their children. May God send his divine peace and strength to this family!

太可怕了，没有父母愿意比自己的孩子活得更久。愿神赐予这个家庭力量!

Rajat Dogra

.so many innocents died...

那么多无辜的人死了啊……

Guest Login

When govt are busy in doing politics of religion and forget to invest money on hospitals and medicines, every parents will lose their child and every child will lose their parents.. RIP

如果印度政府忙于宗教政治，忘记投资建设医院、生产药品，每个父母都会失去他们的孩子，每个孩子都会失去他们的父母。

Krish Jayaram

It is heart-breaking.. God is being too cruel. Let the twins rest in peace. And my sincerest condolences to their Parents .

令人心碎. .老天太残忍了。愿这对双胞胎安息吧。向他们的父母致以最诚挚的哀悼。

Subodh Asthana

Heart breaking ,very sad .

心碎，很难过。

Syed Shahnawaz

BJP has ruined our country and ordinary peoples lives. Loved ones wasted just because of our incompetence bunch of jokers.

人民党毁了我们的国家，毁了普通人的生活。就因为这群无能的小丑，我们的亲人白白牺牲了。

Anil Sharma

Terrible news,may God give the strength to the family to bear such a terrible loss.RIP

可怕的消息，愿神赐予这个家庭承受如此痛苦的力量。安息吧

Star Man

My heart really broke.. Two splendid young men lost to this Chinese virus Why can't these demonic Jehaadis contact COVID and just get lost from here. Wrong people are dying

心真的碎了，两个优秀的年轻人被病毒夺去生命。为什么那些圣战分子不会感染新冠病毒然后消失呢。死的都是命不该绝的人

PK

Whether or not this terrible disease is man made, its spread is definitely man made. Apathy and mismanagement by our political lords have led to avoidable loss of so many lives. Feel deeply saddened for the aged parents of the twins. RIP

不管这种可怕的疾病是否是人为造成的，它的传播肯定是人为的。我们印度的政治领袖的冷漠和管理不善导致了许多本可避免的生命损失。为双胞胎年迈的父母深感悲痛，愿逝者安息

Venkat

Terrible to hear this and my sympathy to the family members.

听到这个消息我很难过，向家属表示同情。

Same Old

extremely bad news for the parents..may god give them strength..rip twins..

这对父母来说真是噩耗，愿神赐予他们力量。

Animesh Das

Wish our worthless BJP government could have invested time and energy to fight covid rather than engaging in regional and religious propaganda

希望人民党政府能够投入时间和精力，抗击新冠肺炎，不要再去各地做宗教宣传了

Sheikh

In first wave never so many 21-40 age people died with this deadly disease. Just imagine the mental condition of parents when they lose 2 you sons

在第一波疫情期间，没有这么多21-40岁的人死于这种致命疾病。想象一下失去两个儿子的父母得多难受啊

Wayne Scurville

Deepest condolences to the family . May their souls rest in peace.

向家属致以最深切的哀悼。愿逝者的灵魂安息。

Guest

The pain can be only understood by people who lost their dear and near one's.. God bless both souls and also give strength to parent to fight against such pain.

只有失去亲人的人才能理解这种痛苦。愿神保佑他们的灵魂，愿神赐予父母力量去承受这样的痛苦。

Ankita

Very saddening, I hope they RIP!!!

非常难过，希望他们安息!!

Rishi Acharya

Heart breaking... Don't understand why people dying when they are recovering..

心碎……不明白为什么在康复的时候会去世…

Aditya Patil

Tears in my eyes. Hope this deadly virus dies soon

泪目了，希望这种致命的病毒尽快消失

harinath gummalla

Its high time that government thinks seriously about vaccinating 18-44 age group. They are the most active age group and vulnerable to contract the infection. They should not be left behind in our vaccination program.

政府是时候认真考虑给18-44岁年龄段的人接种疫苗了。他们是最活跃的年龄组，最容易感染。在我们的疫苗接种计划中，不应该把他们落下。

GSK Dummy

Modi is responsible for their death. He should suppose to keep vaccines for indians than dontating to rest of the world to be a world leader… Chaiwalla cant be a world leader

莫迪要为他们的死负责。他应该为印度人保留疫苗，不该为了成为世界领袖，把疫苗捐赠给其他国家啊