The Health Secretary said today that their loved ones will get a payout to help them deal with any financial problems they might have.
The news came after a cross party group of 50 MPs wrote to Boris Johnson calling for him to set up a coronavirus compensation scheme.
Mr Hancock told this evening’s No10 briefing: “Nothing replaces loss of a loved one.
“We need to do everything we can to support families dealing with these grief.
“And we are looking at other professions who also do not have access to such schemes to see where this may be required.”
He said it would cover NHS and social care colleagues who died doing their “essential work” and would be similar to a life insurance policy.
Mr Hancock said that 82 NHS colleagues and 15 social care staff have officially died so far during the crisis, but the figure is thought to be even higher.
More than 90 front line NHS workers are confirmed to have died since 25 March, according to figures from the Press Association.
Tomorrow a minute of silence will be held at 11am for all those NHS staff who have died in the fight against the virus.
Boris Johnson and other ministers will be taking part too, Downing Street said earlier.
Earlier today it was reported that an NHS worker died in her heartbroken husband’s arms while gasping for breath after a gruelling battle with coronavirus.
Laura Tanner, 51, collapsed after her breathing “got shallower and shallower” while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
But the mum-of-two tragically couldn’t be saved and died in husband Kevin’s arms from the deadly disease.
He has now spoken of his grief after NHS locality administrator Laura passed away with her youngest son Kian, 13, still in the home in Basildon, Essex.
The 49-year-old said: “It was horrific – I still have nightmares.
“Laura hadn’t been able to get out of bed on most days, or eat, but this day she had got up and was fumbling around downstairs.
“So I went down to check on her and it was like she was having a bad panic attack.
“She was struggling for a breath and was asking me to calm her down.
“I called 999 and got Laura a paper bag and sat with her but her breathing just got shallower and shallower.
“Her eyes went small and I could see it, she was going and then she passed.
“Paramedics came within 10 minutes and four of them worked on her for about an hour then took her away.
“Around 45 minutes later two of them came and knocked on the door and said ‘we are really sorry, she’s gone’.”
