Third heroic nurse is dead after treating patients with killer virus

A YOUNG NHS nurse who died after treating coronavirus patients had fallen ill at work but was not allowed home because his ward was so short-staffed, his heartbroken mother claimed last night.

John Alagos, 23, the third nurse and the youngest British medic believed to have succumbed to the virus, collapsed and died at home after an exhausting 12-hour shift.

His mother, Gina Gustilo, 50, told The Mail on Sunday her son had not been wearing the right protective clothing at work. He returned home on Friday following a night shift, complaining of a headache and high temperature.

A tearful Mrs Gustilo said: ‘I asked “Why didn’t you come home earlier?” He said he had asked but they were short of staff and did not let him go. I said, “OK, take some paracetamol.” After a few minutes, I found him turning blue in his bed.’

Mr Alagos was working at Watford General Hospital, which last night declared a ‘critical incident’ and shut its A&E department after a problem with its oxygen supplies.

Ms Gustilo said her son’s colleagues told her he was not wearing ‘proper’ protective clothing, adding: ‘They wear PPE, but not totally protective of the mouth. They wear the normal masks.’

After finding her son unconscious in his bedroom, Ms Gustilo immediately called 999 but paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.

Last night, Watford General Hospital said in a statement: ‘We would never expect anyone to remain at work if they were showing the symptoms of Covid-19 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.’ A spokeswoman added: ‘John was very popular and will be missed greatly.’

Mr Alagos, from Watford, was born in the Philippines, but moved to Britain as a youngster and had become a British citizen. Ms Gustilo said he did not have any underlying medical conditions.

Last night it was also revealed that retired mental health worker Glen Corbin, from Brent, NorthWest London, had died from the coronavirus after returning to the front line. The 59-year-old used to work as a health care assistant at the Park Royal Centre for Mental Health and recently returned to help ease staff shortage on its acute and rehabilitation ward. Last week, two other frontline nurses died after apparently becoming infected by patients.

Mother-of-three Areema Nasreen, 36, who had no underlying conditions, died in intensive care at Walsall Manor Hospital, where she had worked for 16 years, and Aimee

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

In a heartbreaking Facebook message posted four days before Ms O’Rourke died, her daughter, Megan Murphy, poignantly wrote: ‘We know you are coming home, no maybe about it. How could my beautiful mum, my forever best friend, the reason I breathe, be so, so poorly after all the good she’s done and does?’

Last night, it also emerged that five London bus drivers had died from the virus, prompting leaders of the Unite union to call for better protection for drivers and deeper cleaning of vehicles. The pandemic also claimed the life of its first prison officer in the UK. Bovil Peter, 64, from Hackney, East London, worked at Pentonville jail in North London where 19 inmates have so far tested positive for coronavirus.

And in a double tragedy, British light-heavyweight boxer Anthony Yarde, 28, announced that he had lost his grandmother to the virus, a week after his father died from it.

‘My dad and his mother have passed just days apart,’ the fighter wrote on social media. ‘People are still going out when they don’t need to. I know there’s a lot of opinions about Covid-19 but opinions ain’t worth risking your life and others. Just stay home.’

Renowned footwear designer Sergio Rossi, 84, also died with coronavirus in Cesena, Italy.