On the few occasions I now look at the main media news I am assailed by the latest fatality rate from Covid 19

bad enough in itself, but I find myself getting mad at the utterly unnecessary use of the phrase "sadly died".

Not sadly---tragically!.  But why use either word at all?.  The opposite of sad is happy - and no one would

expect to hear that victims have "happily died".  That conjures up visions of the poor souls leaping from their

beds or wheelchairs in riotous abandon and happy-clapping their hosanna choruses down hospital or care

home corridors to the oblivion that comes to us all sooner or later.  I have come to loathe this "aren't we

so very caring?" approach to a situation that in its most respectful interpretation would never use emphasis

or qualification of this superfluous/gratuitous sort.