Covid-19 kills Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith's father

Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith's father Ron has died after contracting Covid-19.

Ron Smith, 79, contracted coronavirus four weeks ago and after a short spell in hospital succumbed with his family at his side.

Ron had recently been living in a care home after being diagnosed with dementia six years ago.

“The Aston Villa Family are saddened to announce that Ron Smith, the father of our current Head Coach Dean, has passed away at the age of 79.

“The thoughts of everyone at the football club are currently with Dean and his family at this most distressing of times and would kindly ask for the family’s privacy to be respected,” Aston Villa said in a statement on Wednesday night.

A lifelong supporter, Smith was a steward at Villa Park for many years and passed on his love of the club down to his children.

As well as being a regular at home games, he (Smith) was also there to witness that greatest of days in May 1982 when Villa lifted the European Cup in Rotterdam.

Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith. [Photo: Courtesy]

Four more players and club staff from the English Premier League (EPL) tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.

The Premier League confirmed that on Monday 25 May and Tuesday 26 May 1008 players and club staff were tested for Covid-19. Of these, four tested positive from three clubs.

Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days.

Premier League clubs on Wednesday voted unanimously to return to contact training, including tackling, as the English top-flight moved a step closer to a resumption after the shutdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to official numbers on Thursday (28/05/2020), there are currently 5,784,601 coronavirus cases in the world with 356,937 succumbing to the deadly virus. However, there is still hope as 2,494,952 people have recovered from the deadly virus.