Captain Tom Moore, the 100-year British veteran whose campaign to raise money for health workers during the coronavirus pandemic captured hearts worldwide, has tested positive for COVID-19.
Moore was treated for pneumonia at home before testing positive for COVID last week, and he was hospitalized after starting to have breathing difficulties, his daughter Hannah tweeted on Sunday. Moore is being treated at Bedford Hospital, about an hour north of London, but he doesn’t need any intensive care so far, she said.
Moore, who served in World War II and is affectionately known as Captain Tom, received worldwide attention this April for his quest to walk 100 laps around his yard before his 100th birthday to raise money for National Health Service employees in the UK.
Although his original goal was £ 1,000, Moore ultimately raised more than £ 38 million. With the help of a walker, he completed his last laps in a live TV event, surrounded by a military guard of honor.
At the time, his daughter Hannah said her father took up the challenge of walking 10 laps a day as a way to thank NHS employees for the “incredible care” he received after fracturing his hip.
Although Moore uses a walker to get around, he said he could handle the 25-meter stretch – that’s 82 feet – step by step.
“I can get by slowly,” he told the BBC. “As long as people don’t want me to run too fast, I can make it and I will continue to do so for as long as possible.”
Moore’s charity campaign made him a national hero, and his 100th birthday was celebrated with hundreds of thousands of maps, murals and a display of the Royal Air Force above his home.
The Captain Tom Foundation was established in May to support people who are sick and lonely during the pandemic.