An NHS doctor volunteering to treat coronavirus patients was left homeless after he was evicted by his landlord and told to live in a tent.
Consultant geriatrician Vincent Okafor, 57, said his landlord thought he might be infected and bring the killer bug into the property.
He was given five days’ notice to vacate his rented accommodation on March 23.
Dr Okafor had moved to Hereford from Birmingham last month after offering to work on the NHS frontline to try to save lives in the coronavirus outbreak.
One potential landlady suggested that he bought a tent to live in after she asked the doctor whether he had offered to help fight coronavirus.
Vincent Okafor, 57, was evicted from his rented accommodation and said his landlord feared he would bring coronavirus into the property
He said: ‘I thought to myself, even if I were to do that. Where would I pitch up? At the KFC car park?’
He emailed 15 people who the hospital suggested but Dr Okafor could still not find accommodation.
He said: ‘My landlord served me a verbal eviction order to pack out of his property.
‘His reason was that since I work at the hospital and treat the elderly, I was likely to bring the virus to his house.
‘I didn’t have anywhere to stay to help the people I was recruited to come and help.’
He added: ‘I was emailing people without knowing where their properties in Hereford were. I was desperate at the time.’
Dr Okafor parked up in the hospital car park on the day he was due to be evicted on March 27 with his luggage and nowhere to sleep.
Luckily, he was offered a place to stay at the last minute by a former neighbour which he says ‘restored his faith in humanity’.
Dr Okafor, who usually works at Warwick Hospital, says he bears no animosity towards his former landlord.
He added: ‘I got talking to someone I met in Folly Lane and he offered me a place to stay for a short while.
Dr Okafor had been living with Dr Adil El Tayar, 64, who became the first working NHS surgeon to die from coronavirus on March 25
‘The guy has been very good. I’ve been in contact with him since and he has offered me more short-stay accommodation if needed.
‘That was very nice of him.
‘I suppose in every community there are always going to be very good people and not-so-good people.’
Dr Okafor had been living with Dr Adil El Tayar, 64, on Folly Lane who became the first working NHS surgeon to die from the killer bug on March 25.
Dr El Tayar had left for London two weeks before Dr Okafor was evicted and died at West Middlesex University Hospital.
Orthopaedic surgeon Joseph Alsousou set up rooms4nhs.com after he was asked to leave his accommodation over coronavirus fears
Dr Okafor self-isolated for a week in Hereford to see if he developed symptoms before returning to his family in Birmingham last Friday.
He said: ‘I wanted to make sure I had no coronavirus symptoms before returning home.
‘I don’t know when I will go back to work.
‘I want to take some time to recover and see how the pandemic plays out. There are promising signs but it’s still too early to see.’
Paying tribute to his colleague Dr El Tayar, he added: ‘It came as a shock. Only a couple of weeks ago we had been living together and sharing meals.
‘He was a very nice guy. He used to cook and invite us all to eat with him.
‘He was well travelled. Oman, Saudia Arabia and Qatar: he told us about all these places and explained the situation in Sudan and South Sudan.
‘We would just sit down and talk about many things.
‘He was a really nice person. He was going to retire in two years’ time and his plan was to go back to Sudan. He wanted to set up a foundation to help the people there.’
Orthopaedic surgeon Joseph Alsousou, who works for Oxford University Hospitals NHS foundation trust, was also asked to leave his accommodation over coronavirus fears.
He set up rooms4nhs.com aimed at matching NHS staff who need accommodation and members of the public or businesses who offer rooms for free or discounted rates.
Paramedic Joseph Hoar, who works for the South Western Ambulance Service, was evicted by his landlady by text.
She told him to move out and get an ‘Airbnb’. She had said she was ‘nervous’ about having a tenant who works for the NHS.