Harlow Council’s political leaders have paid tribute to a “much loved” Princess Alexandra nurse who died from COVID-19 last week.

Lynsay Coventry was the first serving NHS midwife in England whose death was publicly confirmed.

The 54-year-old has worked for the Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust (PAHT) for over 10 years.

In a joint statement Cllr Mark Ingall, leader of the council and Cllr Andrew Johnson, leader of the opposition said: “We are deeply moved and saddened to hear of the death of a clearly much-loved midwife Lynsay Coventry who worked at our town’s Princess Alexandra hospital.

“Neither of us knew Lynsay personally, but we are grateful for her 10 years of dedicated service at Princess Alexandra Hospital where she worked as a midwife, helping to deliver so many of Harlow’s babies and supporting local mums.

“Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with Lynsay’s family, friends and all the staff at the hospital.”

The number of coronavirus-related hospital deaths now stands at 6,483 patients.

At the Princess Alexandra, there has so far been a total of 81 coronavirus deaths.

Cllr Ingall and Cllr Johnson added: “We know this is an extremely difficult time for our hospital and we can’t imagine what it is like, but Harlow is with you, you have our support and are forever in our thoughts.

“At every stage our local NHS workers have been working hard to rise to the challenge of being on the frontline to save lives. Now it’s more important than ever that everyone, including our own harlow residents, follows the government advice to protect our NHS staff by staying at home to save lives.”

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