Downing Street says there has been “significant progress” in efforts to improve testing of frontline NHS workers, but criticism surrounding the protective equipment they are provided with persists.

The Government has confirmed 19 deaths amongst those working for the health service, but announcements from NHS trusts and tributes from loved ones indicate the true number is higher still.

Here are the NHS workers the PA news agency has confirmed to have died during the coronavirus pandemic so far:

– Melujean Ballesteros, nurse

The “dedicated and very caring” Filipino nurse, 60, died at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, on Sunday, April 12, just two days after being admitted.

– Kevin Smith, plaster technician

Doncaster Royal Infirmary confirmed the death of plaster technician Kevin Smith on April 12, following a “brief, but courageous, battle with Covid-19”.

He worked at the hospital for more than 35 years and was “renowned for his warm personality, diligence and compassion”, the trust said.

– Oscar King Jr, hospital porter

Aged 45, Oscar King Jr, a Filipino porter at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, passed away on April 11. He was said to have worked for the hospital for more than a decade, “always doing his job with great enthusiasm and joy”.

– Elbert Rico, hospital porter

A colleague of Mr King Jr at John Radcliffe, Mr Rico worked as a porter there since moving to the UK from the Philippines in 2004 “and loved the work that he did”, according to a fundraising page published by his family.

– Gareth Roberts, nurse

The death of the “extremely popular” Mr Roberts, who came out of retirement in 2015 having worked since the 1980s, was confirmed by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board on April 11.

– Donna Campbell, healthcare support worker

Described by colleagues as “beautiful and kind-hearted”, the healthcare support worker from the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff passed away at the University Hospital of Wales on April 10.

– Sara Trollope, nurse

A 51-year-old matron for older adult mental health services in Hillingdon, west London, Ms Trollope died at Watford General hospital on April 10 after testing positive for the virus.

– Julie Omar, nurse

Aged 52, the trauma and orthopaedics nurse at Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital, in Worcestershire, died at home while self-isolating with symptoms on April 10.

– Amor Gatinao, nurse

The nurse is reported to have died on the morning of April 10, having worked at St Charles Hospital, west London.

– Aimee O’Rourke, nurse

Aged 39, the nurse and mother died at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital (QEQMH) in Margate, Kent, where she worked, on Thursday April 9.

– Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, consultant urologist

The 53-year-old wrote a Facebook post asking Prime Minister Boris Johnson to urgently provide every NHS worker with PPE just five days before he died on the night of Wednesday April 8.

– Dr Edmond Adedeji, doctor

The 62-year-old worked as a locum registrar in the emergency department of Great Western Hospital in Swindon, Wiltshire, and died “doing a job he loved” on April 8.

– Fayez Ayache, GP

The 76-year-old general practitioner and grandfather died in Ipswich Hospital on April 8, having been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and coronavirus.

– Elsie Sazuze, care home nurse

Mrs Sazuze, who worked for Wolverhampton-based agency Totallycare, died on April 7 at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, according to the BBC, who spoke with her husband Ken.

– Leilani Dayrit, nurse

Described as a “ray of sunshine”, Ms Dayrit, a Filipino nurse who worked at St Cross Hospital in Rugby, died on April 7.

– Donald Suelto, nurse

The 51-year-old, who worked at Hammersmith Hospital in west London, died on April 7 after going into self-isolation with coronavirus symptoms.

– Alice Kit Tak Ong, nurse

The 70-year-old, originally from Hong Kong, died on April 7 after 44 years of working for the NHS. She was described by her daughter Melissa as “generous to everyone else before herself”.

– Janice Graham, nurse

The 58-year-old healthcare support worker from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) became the first nurse in Scotland to die as a result of the coronavirus pandemic on April 6.

– Syed Haider, GP

The family doctor worked in Dagenham, east London, and died in hospital on April 6 after it is believed he developed coronavirus symptoms.

– Barbara Moore, patient discharge planner

Described as an “unsung hero”, the 54-year-old grandmother died on April 6, the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said.

– Dr Alfa Saadu, doctor

The 68-year-old, who had returned to work from retirement, died on April 6 at the Whittington Hospital in north London.

– Jitendra Rathod, surgeon

A “highly regarded” associate specialist in cardio-thoracic surgery at the University Hospital of Wales, Mr Rathod died on the morning of April 6.

– Lynsay Coventry, midwife

Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex announced the death of 54-year-old – the first involving a serving NHS midwife after testing positive for the virus – on April 5.

– Glen Corbin, nurse

The 59-year-old had worked at the Park Royal Centre for Mental Health in Harlesden, north-west London, for more than 25 years and his Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust announced his death on April 4.

– Rebecca Mack, nurse

The 29-year-old died on April 5, after going into self-isolation with symptoms. Her friend Sarah Bredin-Kemp said she was an “incredible nurse”.

– Liz Glanister, nurse

Aintree University Hospital said the staff nurse died on Friday April 3, with her family describing the loss as “simply beyond words”.

– John Alagos, nurse

The Mail On Sunday reported that the 27-year-old nurse – who treated coronavirus patients at Watford General Hospital – died after a shift on Friday April 3.

– Areema Nasreen, nurse

Aged 36, Ms Nasreen died on April 2 in intensive care at Walsall Manor Hospital in the West Midlands – where she had worked for 16 years.

– Sami Shousha, researcher

The professor, 79, who had worked at UK cancer research laboratories at London’s Hammersmith and Charing Cross hospitals since 1978, died on April 2.

– Thomas Harvey, nurse

The healthcare assistant, 57, a father-of-seven who worked at Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford, east London, died at home on March 29.

– Dr Amged El-Hawrani, consultant

An ear, nose and throat consultant with University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB), the 55-year-old died at the Glenfield Hospital in Leicester on March 28.

– Pooja Sharma, pharmacist

Ms Sharma, a pharmacist at Eastbourne District General Hospital, died unexpectedly on March 26 according to a JustGiving page created in her memory.

– Dr Habib Zaidi, doctor

The GP in Leigh-on-Sea died in intensive care at Southend Hospital, Essex, on March 25, aged 76.

– Dr Adil El Tayar, transplant surgeon

The 63-year-old died at West Middlesex University Hospital in Isleworth, west London, on March 25, working as a locum surgeon before his death.

– Dr Anton Sebastianpillai, consultant

The consultant geriatrician died on April 4, four days after being admitted to the intensive care unit and two weeks after completing his final shift on March 20, according to Kingston Hospital in south-west London.