Identical twin sisters who had worked as nurses at the same hospital died within days of each other after testing positive for coronavirus.

Katy and Emma Davis, 37, both suffered from underlying health conditions and had been unwell for some time before contracting Covid-19.

Tributes were paid to the pair after Katy died at Southampton General Hospital on Tuesday and Emma died early on Friday morning.

Their sister Zoe Davis told the BBC: “They always said they had come into the world together and would go out together as well.

“There are no words to describe how special they were.”

Katy worked as risk and patient safety lead in child health at University Hospital Southampton (UHS), while Emma was a nurse in the colorectal unit for nine years until 2013.

Paula Head, chief executive at UHS, said: “I want to pay tribute to Katy who sadly passed away on Tuesday.

“Katy has been described by her colleagues where she worked in child health as a nurse people would aspire to be like and that nursing was more than just a job to her.

UHS said that Emma had the same underlying health condition as Katy and had been unwell prior to her admission when she tested positive for Covid-19.

“She sadly also passed away last night and it goes without saying just how devastating and tragic this is for the family and all who knew them,” a spokesperson said.​

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They added: “Emma has been described as an excellent nurse who was calm and cheerful and a good leader.

“She was well liked by all and was a valuable member of the team during her time with us.

“We are supporting Katy and Emma’s family as much as we can through this difficult and distressing period.”

At least 90 front line NHS workers, including around 50 nurses, are believed to have died during the coronavirus outbreak.