Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Unvaccinated US couple die of Covid within seconds of each other

The couple had been married 44 years and died holding hands. Photo / GoFundMe

A couple married for more than four decades has tragically died within "seconds" of each other after contracting coronavirus.

William and Carol Stewart, from the US state of New Hampshire died on December 30 in hospital while holding hands.

The couple had not been vaccinated against coronavirus. William Stewart was 73 while Carol Stewart was 69, People reports.

Carol Stewart had been on life support for two weeks before she died while her husband had suffered from lung, kidney and renal failures, all complications from catching coronavirus.

Daughter Melissa Noke said her parents were the "true definition of soulmates" and had known each other since they were children.

William and Carol Stewart. Photo / Douglas & Johnson Funeral Home

"They've known each other since they were 4, been together 45 years, married 44 years," she said.

Noke said on the day they died hospital staff had wheeled her parents into the same room so they could be together.

"Placed both beds side-by-side, placing my mother's hand into my father's hand," she told local TV station WMUR.

"As soon as they touched hands, my father took his last breath, and then my mother 10 seconds later."

The couple had been married 44 years and died holding hands. Photo / GoFundMe

The couple's nephew Tim Stewart has since started a GoFundMe page to help pay expenses for the late couple.

"They fought a long and hard battle with Covid, both intubated and on life support," he wrote.

"I truly believe that the power of prayers and all the kind words that have been shared over the past few weeks is what kept them fighting."

Noke told WMUR she hoped that sharing her parents' story would encourage others to get vaccinated.

The United States has seen a huge spike in new Covid cases thanks to the Omicron variant.

The country is now averaging more than 500,000 new cases a day, the New York Times reports.