Coronavirus nurse, 23, collapses and dies at home after 12-hour shift as mum says he didn’t have right protective kit

Mrs Gustilo said: “I asked 'Why didn’t you come home?' He said he had asked other staff but they said they were short of staff and he said they did not let him go.

“I said, 'OK, take some paracetamol'. After a few minutes, I found him turning blue in his bed.”

Mrs Gustilo immediately called the emergency services but paramedics were not able to resuscitate him.

John was treating coronavirus patients at Watford General Hospital which today declared a "critical incident" and shut their A&E department after a problem with their oxygen supplies.

As of Saturday night the "critical incident" has ended and patients can attend Watford General as usual.

Ms Gustilo said that her son did not have any underlying medical conditions.

Tracey Carter, chief nurse at Watford General Hospital, told Sun Online: “Our staff are fully briefed on the symptoms of COVID-19 and we would never expect anyone to remain at work if they were showing these symptoms or indeed were unwell in any way.

"We have always kept our staff updated on the latest PPE guidance to make sure they have the right level of protection for where they are working.

";John was very popular and will be missed greatly by his colleagues. We cannot comment further on the cause of death at this stage."

Last week two other nurses died of coronavirus believed to have been infected by patients.

Areema Nasreen, a mum-of-three who had no underlying conditions, died in intensive care at Walsall Manor Hospital, where she had worked for 16 years.

Aimee O'Rourke, 39, who is also a mother-of-three, died in intensive care at Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent where she worked.

The UK's death toll has increased by 708 to 4,353 in the last 24 hours, the UK's worst day ever.

A five-year-old child, who had an underlying health condition, has become Britain's youngest coronavirus victim.

The young victim is now believed to be the youngest Covid-19 death in Europe after a 12-year-old girl passed away in Belgium earlier this week.

Previously, Britain's youngest coronavirus victim was "very healthy" 13-year-old Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, who died in hospital in London on Monday.