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A nurse at a London hospital treating coronavirus patients is reported to have killed herself at work.

The woman, in her 20s, is thought to have worked in the intensive care unit at King's College Hospital.

She was found unresponsive at the hospital before police were called at 5.36pm on Monday.

It has been reported elsewhere she may have taken an overdose.

A spokesperson for the hospital told Mirror Online: “A member of staff was found unresponsive at the hospital on Monday.

"Despite the best efforts of the medical team, they sadly died.

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(Image: Getty Images)

"We are offering support to their family at this difficult time and would ask that their privacy is respected."

A Met Police spokesman said: "The patient was treated and later died in hospital."

He added that police are in the process of identifying next of kin to inform them.

The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.

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The spokesman said he understood she was a staff member at the hospital but could not confirm her role.

The south London hospital has seen eight coronavirus deaths with intensive care units treating the sickest patients.

The UK saw its biggest daily rise in deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday, with a further 87 fatal cases including 21 in one London hospital trust alone.

That's an almost 26 per cent increase in 24 hours, taking the UK’s total death toll from 335 to 422.

The figures include 21 deaths at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, including Northwick Park hospital which announced last week it was running out of critical care beds and asked nearby facilities to take on some of its patients.

Yesterday's deaths ranged in age from 33 to 103 - with all were in vulnerable groups including with underlying conditions, NHS England said.

Over 8,000 people have been officially confirmed as having contracted the virus in Britain.

A press briefing yesterday saw Health Secretary Matt Hancock call for an army of 250,000 volunteers to bolster the NHS after Brits today entered the most dramatic restrictions on civil liberties in peacetime.

The virus may have already infected more than half the UK population, researchers say.

University of Oxford Professor Sunetra Gupta said it could mean less than one in a thousand people who contract the disease will need hospital treatment.

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