The elderly parents of a nurse who died after contracting coronavirus have both now died from the disease.
Keith Dunnington, 54, had been on the NHS frontline for more than 30 years when he was died from Covid-19 at his parents' home on April 19.
The dad-of-two had been working as staff nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead.
His 81-year-old mum Lillian died on Friday holding hands with her husband, Keith's dad Maurice.
He had been brought to her bedside from his ward by hospital staff.
Maurice then died over the weekend.
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Keith's cousin - and his parents' niece - Debbie Harvey, 55, said the three were 'really loved' and would be 'greatly missed'.
She told The Sun: “I think it’s important that people realise the virus is deadly.
"It’s too early to lift lockdown as people are dying. It’s wiped out a whole family.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 150 frontline NHS and care workers have lost their lives to the virus.
Keith, of South Shields, was dad to Ben, 21 and Olivia, 17, and trained to become a nurse in Birmingham.
He had planned to help at one of the Nightingale hospitals before his death.
Yvonne Ormston MBE, chief executive of Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust said: "It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the passing of Keith Dunnington.
"Keith was a long-serving Staff Nurse who worked on medical, surgical and elderly wards here at Gateshead Health NHS FT.
"Keith was a popular and hard-working member of our fantastic nursing team. He will be very missed by his co-workers here at the trust and by the patients he cared for."
Ms Ormston added: "Keith most recently worked on Ward 12 where his colleagues remember him very fondly.
"He was known for always having a positive outlook which others found really encouraging and for taking time to check-in with colleagues.
"On Sundays he put particular importance on everyone having a proper dinner and often arranged food for everyone. When not at work he volunteered at soup kitchens and spent time with his family, who he spoke so highly about.
"My thoughts are with Keith’s family, friends and colleagues at this incredibly sad and difficult time."
The trust said that although Keith was "very much part of the QE family", he was employed by nursing agency Pulse Jobs.
Lorna Duka from Pulse Jobs said: “Keith was a very selfless, hardworking and dedicated nurse who planned to help at the Nightingale during this pandemic.
“His positivity really stood out during this time; cracking jokes and asking me how I was coping. He always spoke very fondly of his family and his colleagues at Gateshead who he had the opportunity to work with regularly over the last year. He will be very much missed."
