Nurses have taped signs to a hospital window to inform a family of their father's death amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This happened because Rene Johnson's five children were unable to step inside the Catholic Medical Centre in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he had been admitted to intensive care after contracting coronavirus.

So, the five proceeded to hold a vigil in the park outside the hospital where they could see their father's room.

"Every day, we would just try to do a little something different," Johnson's daughter Angela Daneault told CNN.

"Yesterday morning, me and my brother went and had breakfast in the park to try and feel close to our dad."

In the video below, the family thanks the nurses for their act of kindness:

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When Johnson passed away, the nurses who had cared for him broke the sad news to his family by taping two signs to the window that read, "he is at peace" and "we are so sorry".

"We told him, as we tell all our patients, how much they are loved, that we are here for them," one of the nurses who cared for Johnson, Kaitlyn Kerrigan, said.

"We hold their hands and tell them - everything they tell us to tell them. We tell our patients."

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Another nurse, Lynn Harkins, said Johnson's children's vigil had become known for uplifting the staff during this incredibly challenging time.

"They were kind of famous with our staff. Everyone would come in for their shift and say, 'Is the family out there?' And everyone would go to the window and wave."

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As an act of gratitude to the nurses who helped their father in his final days, the family intends to keep up their vigil to raise the spirits of key workers within the hospital.

"I just really want this to be about the nurses," Johnson’s son, Kevin, said.

"They just went beyond. There's people in there that really need somebody. I'm going to make signs. We're going to give them food. They're going to see balloons."

Nurse tapes signs to hospital window to inform family of father's death