The chief nursing officer for England has paid tribute to two colleagues who sadly passed away from coronavirus.
NHS nurses Areema Nasreen and Aimee O'Rourke - both mothers-of-three - died in the last 24 hours after contracting Covid-19.
Ms Nasreen, who worked at Walsall Manor Hospital near Birmingham, was described as "the most loveliest, genuine person you could ever meet".
She had been on a ventilator at Walsall Manor Hospital after developing a temperature, body aches and a cough, reports the Mirror.
Areema's sister said she was 'fit and healthy' before the diagnosis with no underlying conditions.
And Ms O'Rourke worked at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent, and was heralded by friends as a nurse who "gave her life to make sure other people survived" during the coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking today amid the daily coronavirus press conference from Downing Street, chief nursing officer Ruth May urged members of the public to remember the pair.
She said: "I'm hugely grateful to the tens of thousands of nurses, doctors, health and social care workers that day in, day out are working around the clock.
"They know that this is the greatest global health emergency and I am grateful, personally grateful, for everyone that's stepping up to support the NHS right now.
"I know as a nurse myself that we, in our time of need, it's important that we are there to serve our patients.
"And I am grateful for them all doing that day in, day out.
"This weekend is going to be very warm and it will be very tempting to go out and enjoy those summer rays.
"But please, I ask to remember Aimee and Areema. Please stay at home for them."
Ms May expressed her condolences to their families, friends and colleagues and said she feared further nurses will die.
She said: "They were one of us, they were one of my profession, of the NHS family. I worry that there's going to be more and I want to honour them today and recognise their service."
It came as Health Secretary Matt Hancock acknowledged "the incredible bravery" of NHS staff as the death toll of those in the care sector continues to grow.
Having recovered from his own bout of Covid-19, Hancock said "the whole nation is grateful" to NHS staff for working through difficult times, amid lingering concerns of a lack of personal protection equipment (PPE) and frontline testing.
Downing Street confirmed more than 26.7 million units of PPE were delivered to 281 NHS "trusts and providers" in England on Thursday.
It follows the new guidance issued by Public Health England about the level of protection health staff should wear depending on the patient situation.
A total of 172 people in Scotland have died from coronavirus in Scotland.
The new figure is an increase of 46 deaths overnight.
The number of confirmed cases currently sits at 3,001 - up 399 from Tuesday.
