Medics were eager to show the public what was happening inside Royal Bournemouth Hospital in order to convince them to stay home and stop the spread of coronavirus.

An ITV news team was invited to the ‘Red Zone’ at the hospital on Monday.

Health Correspondent Emily Morgan spoke to staff about life in the ICU treating seriously ill Covid-19 patients.

At one point Duty Nightshift Manager Ella Gordula teared up as she talked about two patients who died from coronavirus on Sunday without any family or friends present.

In total six people were on ventilators on Monday.

Linda New was treated at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital ICU for Covid-19 and is now recovering from the illness in a ward.

She told ITV News: ‘I just wanted to get it through it for my children.

‘Without this lot, I wouldn’t have done. They’ve been so, so good.’

Allan Hunt, 62, who is also recovering from coronavirus at the hospital, added: ‘It’s just so easy to catch, but you just can’t rid of it once you’ve got it.

‘And it affected both my lungs, so I think they’re on the repair, even though I’m getting out of breath doing anything at all.’

The number of people who have died in the UK after contracting coronavirus has reached 5,373 after another 439 were confirmed dead.

The daily increase in deaths has dropped for the second day in a row, following a rise of 621 deaths on Sunday and 708 on Saturday.