Andrea Maftei who has lost her life due to Coronavirus
Popular Andrea Maftei is the second person to die in the North of Ireland in the past week, with positive cases rising on a daily basis.
Mrs Maftei worked for over a decade at the Nobel Cafe in Ballymena, Co Antrim, where she had worked for a number of years and was much loved by staff and customers.
Andrea, who lived in Ballymena but was from Romania, passed away in hospital on Thursday.
Nobel Cafe hjad been closed for 24 hours earlier this week for a thorough deep clean after the positive case was identified.
Mrs Maftei had been self-isolating and was not in work at the time.
In a statement, Nobel Cafe said: “The friends and family at Nobel Cafe are well and truly devastated at the passing of our dear friend and colleague Andrea Maftei.
“Our hearts go out to Andrea’s loving husband Ovidiu, her parents, grandparents and family circle.
“Andrea worked with us for twelve fantastic years, not only was she a trusted employee but a very loyal friend.
“We are astounded at the news and utterly heartbroken.
“The Environmental Health, The Public Health Agency and NIC Contract Tracing have both concluded that this is a community based outbreak and not through our food premise.
“Unfortunately, Andrea has been taken from us under horrendous circumstances.
Sadness over death of popular Andrea Maftei
“We ask you to be kind as we grieve the loss of Andrea and what she meant to us.
“This is the second member of staff we have lost during this horrendous pandemic, as you all know Roisin passed away with Cancer in June.
“We know Roisin will be waiting for Andrea and we ask her to look after her.
“We are completely and utterly heart broken.
“We will miss you forever.
“We can’t put it into words.
“Out of respect for Andrea and the shock this has caused for our staff we will closed today and tomorrow.
“Take care everyone.
“Love Nobel x”
Originally from the Romanian city of Tecuci, Mrs Maftei is survived by her husband of almost seven years, Ovidiu, who works in construction.
Her father Mircea Serban, who is from Romania, posted on social media that his daughter had passed away due to the Coronavirus.
He said Andrea was “killed by this unfortunate virus that killed hundreds of thousands of people.”
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