Gateshead nurse dies after contracting COVID-19

A nurse from South Shields has died after contracting COVID-19.

Father-of-two Keith Dunnington, 54, died on April 19. He worked as an agency nurse and most recently, on the frontline of Ward 12 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead.

His son said he always put others first and he's proud to call him his Dad. Our reporter Katie Cole spoke to son Ben.

Staff were notified by the chief executive of Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust.In a message sent to staff, Yvonne Ormston MBE said:

On Monday 27 April, it was announced the region had lost another health care worker. Fiona Anderson, a community staff nurse at the Grindon Lane Primary Care Centre, lost her life after testing positive for COVID-19.

Margaret ‘Margie’ Blyth, who had served the North East Autism Society for 18 years, passed away at the Sunderland Royal Infirmary, aged 66.

As of Thursday 30 April 2020, the number of people who have died in hospital with coronavirus in the North East and North Yorkshire stands at 1,187.

Read more:

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• North East has highest coronavirus infection rate