Early evening summary
I’m logging off now and will be closing this live blog. Thanks so much for joining me today and for all the comments, emails and messages. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to reply to you all.
Here’s a roundup of what has happened today:
- The UK coronavirus death toll has risen to 11,329 as a further 717 patients died after testing positive, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced.
- A review of lockdown measures will take place later this week but Dominic Raab made clear it was too early for the advice to change.
- The foreign secretary also said the UK had “not yet passed the peak” of the crisis.
- Nearly 200 members of the armed forces are being loaned to NHS ambulance services to support their work during the pandemic.
- Boris Johnson is not doing any government work in Chequers, his spokesman has said. He is “focusing on recovery”.
- More than £14bn from the coronavirus emergency response fund will go to public services, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has confirmed.
- The Nightingale hospital in Manchester is ready to take its first patients after being built within 14 days.
The global live blog will continue if you would like to follow it:
Updated
It has been three weeks since Boris Johnson told the country it was going into lockdown.
The measures, the prime minister said, would be reviewed in three weeks time, and are due to be discussed this Thursday.
One of the main takeaways from today’s daily briefing is that it is highly unlikely the measures will be relaxed, with Dominic Raab saying “it is still far too early” to change the advice.
He added:
We are doing a lot of work in government to be guided by the science and the medical advice that you get and I think that, until you have got that evidence, we will be getting ahead of ourselves.
There will come a time in the future where we can talk about relaxation or transition but we are not there now.
Updated
At the daily briefing, Dominic Raab said the government was trying to give frontline staff reassurance over personal protective equipment (PPE).
It comes amid renewed concern over a shortage of some supplies in parts of the country.
He said:
We understand the importance of getting PPE to the front line whether it’s in care homes or the NHS.
I think the strongest practical reassurance they will want and that we can give them is that over the bank holiday weekend over 16 million items were delivered and we are straining every sinew to roll them out even further and even faster.
Updated
Six more hospital deaths recorded in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has recorded another six coronavirus hospital deaths, PA Media reports.
The overall toll has risen to 124. A total of 76 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed since Sunday, the Public Health Agency said.
Doctors have again expressed concerns about lack of personal protective equipment.
The Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey said at least four deaths involved coronavirus at a west Belfast care home, Our Lady’s Care Home in Beechmount.
He said:
There is an urgent need to ramp up testing in the community, particularly in care homes where clusters have been proven to be fatal for residents.
A lack of testing means the possibility that the true scale of the crisis here is unknown.
It is understood infection control measures have been put in place at the care home.
Police stepped up their patrols at coastal beauty spots over the weekend and said the majority of people complied with restrictions designed to limit spread of the virus.
More than 100 coronavirus-related fines have been issued in three days in Northern Ireland, the PSNI said.
Officers broke up barbecues and a small number of large house parties, assistant chief constable Alan Todd said.
Some parents were also believed to have left their children to play at friends’ houses.
Todd told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme: “We engage with people, it is only when people won’t take the encouragement we end up having to enforce the matter.”
A total of 107 fines were imposed in three days over the Easter period by police patrols.
Updated
Chris Whitty said he would like to see coronavirus testing increased in care homes.
Asked if deaths were recorded properly in such settings, he said: “Everybody who sadly dies, the doctor will make an assessment based on her or his view about what the cause of death is, that’s what the death certificate says in all cases.”
He added:
Doctors take it very seriously and try to make sure that they get as much information to give accurate data.
One of the things we want to do is to extend the amount of testing of people in care homes as the ability to test ramps up over the next few weeks.
Because clearly care homes are one of the areas where there are large numbers of vulnerable people and that is an area of risk and therefore we would very much ... like to have much more extensive testing.
Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, said he expects the death toll to increase this week before “plateauing”.
On the number of hospital deaths of Covid-19, he said the UK is tracking behind Italy and “following the same sort of path”.
He added:
I think this week we are going to see a further increase, thereafter we should see a plateau as the effects of social-distancing come through.
That plateau may last for some time and begin to decrease.
He said the number of people in hospital beds with Covid-19 is beginning to “flatten off” in many parts of the country.
He said it is expected to continue to flatten and decrease as the effects of social-distancing “really feed through into the illness we are seeing in hospital”.
Commenting on accusations the government lacks an exit strategy, Dominic Raab said:
It’s absolutely crucially important that we do not take our eye off the ball or the public’s focus on the thing that has been a success so far in relative terms, which is our ability through widespread support for our social distancing measures to deprive this virus of the means to spread.
Updated
Opening the daily press briefing, Dominic Raab said the government was united in its “national mission” to defeat coronavirus.
Raab also paid tribute to members of the public who followed government advice.
He said:
At the end of last week, we were concerned that people might start ignoring the advice or cutting corners given the temptation to go out into the sunshine.
In fact the overwhelming majority of people stayed at home and understood the importance of doing so.
By staying home this weekend, you’ve saved lives. Thank you, your efforts are making all the difference.
And please keep them up - we’ve come too far, we’ve lost too many loved ones and we’ve sacrificed too much to ease up now.
Updated
The daily briefing is now taking place and you can watch it above.
In his opening speech, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has said there are some “positive signs” from the data that show “we are starting to win this struggle” but warned: “We are still not past the peak.”
He added: “Our plan is working. Please stick with it and we’ll get through this crisis together.”
Updated
An internal memo from Imperial College Healthcare NHS trust on Saturday alerted staff to the current shortages of PPE gowns and listed procedures where aprons could be worn.
Under the heading ‘What’s New Today’ the trust states: “There is a low supply of fluid-repellent long sleeved gowns nationally which is beginning to affect us.”
It confirms current guidance that some procedures can be carried out with plastic aprons only.
But some frontline healthcare workers have complained that wearing aprons instead of gowns places them at risk and that nobody treating coronavirus patients should be so poorly protected.
“It doesn’t matter what ward we are working on, whether we’re in ITU or on another ward treating Covid patients we are all at risk,” said one nurse.
The nurse continued:
Patients cough and spit in our faces all the time. Wearing the same kind of aprons we’ve been wearing for years leaving our arms and other parts of us exposed does not protect us against the virus.
We are told full PPE is only for ‘aerosol-generating areas’ but all healthcare workers are exposed to the risk of aerosol-generating Covid. I have resigned myself to getting the virus because I’m not adequately protected.
It is difficult enough looking after Covid patients without worrying about getting infected ourselves. We say that the ITU is ‘close to heaven’ because so many people die there.
According toChinese authorities, although 1,500 healthcare workers were infected from the start of the outbreak in December, of the 42,600 healthcare staff who arrived from other parts of China to treat patients with the virus from late January until early March, none were infected because they were provided with much higher levels of PPE than the local staff fighting the outbreak in the early days were given.
An Imperial College Healthcare NHS trust spokesperson said:
We follow national guidance from Public Health England. On 10 April, PHE issued guidance – which was the focus of our email to staff – that it is safe to use coveralls as an alternative to long-sleeved gowns, when used in line with existing guidance.
As well as telling staff about this small change, we reminded everyone that PHE advise long sleeved, fluid resistant gowns or coveralls are required only for certain types of procedures – known as aerosol generating procedures.
For all other types of patient care that require staff to be within two metres of a patient, plastic aprons (along with gloves and surgical masks) are required. We will clarify this with our staff again today.
Updated
The Prince of Wales has praised the work of British Sikhs during the Covid-19 crisis as the lockdown forces the community to celebrate the religious festival of Vaisakhi at home.
Vaisakhi commemorates the creation in 1699 of the Khalsa, the collective body of initiated Sikhs, by Guru Gobind Singh.
"In these challenging times, the Sikh community is making an extraordinary and invaluable contribution to the life of this country, and to so many others, just as it has always done."
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) April 13, 2020
A message from HRH to Sikhs in the UK and across the Commonwealth, on the festival of Vaisakhi. pic.twitter.com/MK8e8D0rby
Marked on 13 April this year, celebrations in London’s Trafalgar Square later this month have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking in a video posted to Twitter, the Prince of Wales offered his sympathies with families and friends unable to celebrate the festival together.
Charles hailed the “vital role” that Sikhs were playing on the “front line” of the crisis.
“Whether in our hospitals or in other key roles; or through the remarkable work that is being done by gurdwaras to support local communities and the most vulnerable,” he added.
He also highlighted the “heart-warming reports” of other faith groups working together to share resources and offer “support and friendship”.
About half of all Covid-19 deaths appear to be happening in care homes in some European countries, according to early figures gathered by UK-based academics who are warning that the same effort must be put into fighting the virus in care homes as in the NHS.
Snapshot data from varying official sources shows that in Italy, Spain, France, Ireland and Belgium between 42% and 57% of deaths from the virus have been happening in homes, according to the report by academics based at the London School of Economics (LSE).
Published official data for care homes in England and Wales are believed to significantly underestimate deaths in the sector, with the Office for National Statistics only recording 20 coronavirus-related deaths in all care homes in the week ending 27 March. New figures are due out on Tuesday, but are unlikely to be up to date.
Last week the industry body Care England told the Guardian the total figure was probably approaching 1,000, with deaths reaching into double figures at numerous homes. Over the weekend details of more deaths emerged, including 13 residents who have died at the 71-capacity Stanley Park care home in County Durham, and there have reportedly been five deaths at Almond Court in Glasgow.
Read the full article here:
Here’s a clip of Scotland’s interim chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith urging families of those who have died during the outbreak not to delay funerals.
The tough restrictions enforced in Wales amid the coronavirus pandemic are working as the country braces itself for its fourth week in lockdown, the first minister of Wales has said.
Mark Drakeford spoke out as Public Health Wales revealed the number of people who have died after contracting Covid-19 rose by 15 to 384, as a total of 5,610 have now tested positive for the virus.
He said that the benefit of the public staying at home over the Easter bank holiday weekend and sticking to the strict social distancing guidelines would be seen in the weeks to come.
He said:
Thanks to everyone who’s staying home. I know this is hard. For some people it’s even tougher.
Thank you for sticking to the rules, there are signs this is working.
Our actions and decisions over the Easter break and weeks to come will have an impact.
Last week Drakeford had warned the restrictions could get worse if people flouted social distancing rules.
It comes after a weekend when two further NHS staff in Wales died after testing positive for the virus.
Donna Campbell worked at the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff as a healthcare support worker while Gareth Roberts was a nurse at the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
In other developments, former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has spoken of developing coronavirus-like symptoms, describing it as a “blur”.
Wood said it neither she or her partner knew for certain whether they had coronavirus or not.
“It looks like it’ll be some time before tests are available to be able to know, which is a shame because if we have had it and are now immune, we could potentially be useful,” she said.
She said her 14-day quarantine period was up on Wednesday.
“It’s been a scary time, and I’m sure there are plenty of others who have gone through similar and I know much worse in recent weeks.”
Updated
I’ve had a few emails and messages about the number of tests in the tweet below.
The reason the number of tests is higher than the number of people tested is that some people are tested more than once.
One explanation is that patients who have recovered are tested again. Earlier we learned that Boris Johnson received a second coronavirus test when he was ready to be discharged from hospital. His spokesperson said this was standard practice.
As of 9am 13 April, 367,667 tests have concluded, with 14,506 tests on 12 April.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) April 13, 2020
290,720 people have been tested of which 88,621 tested positive.
As of 5pm on 12 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 11,329 have sadly died. pic.twitter.com/AijH4hfOV1
A nurse has died after contracting Covid-19 in London.
Melujean Ballesteros, 60, originally from the Philippines, died at St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, London, on Sunday, two days after being admitted.
Ballesteros is survived by her two sons, Rainier and Bryan, who live in the Philippines, and her husband, Luis, who lives in the UK.
Her colleagues and friends have been raising money for her funeral on GoFundMe.
Faz Ghooloo, who set the fund up, said she would be remembered for “her cheese cake, her food, her smile, her generosity, her hard work, her kindness, her humbleness, her tenacity, her support and many other countless talents that she had”.
Fundraising for our NHS hero MJ! Every little helps! 🙏 https://t.co/GEC7KD7tUH
— Marcia Monteiro (@Marcia_ICUnurse) April 13, 2020
Rainier, who lives in Calauag in the Philippines, said his mother had a fever and cough in mid-March and self-isolated for nine days.
But on Friday, Rainier said the family convinced her to visit the hospital due to her worsening condition, and so she was picked up by an ambulance and admitted. She died two days later.
Speaking to PA Media, Rainier, 37, said: “My mum is a dedicated and very caring nurse. She started her career in the UK in 2003, she loved her work as a nurse.”
The news follows the deaths of two Filipino porters from John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, Oscar King Jr and Elbert Rico, who died on Saturday.
Leilani Dayrit, a Filipino nurse who worked at St Cross hospital in Rugby, died on 7 April.
A Commons library report published last year found more than 18,000 Filipinos work in the NHS, third only to the numbers from Britain and India.
The Philippine ambassador to the UK, Antonio Lagdameo, said:
Filipino health workers have served tirelessly and courageously at the frontlines of the war against this pandemic, and their contribution to the ongoing effort to save lives is nothing but immense.
The escalation of confirmed Covid-19 cases and Covid-19-related deaths point out the undeniable truth that this disease is an existential threat even to the most healthy and fit among us.
Updated
The Nightingale hospital in Manchester is ready to take its first patients after being built within 14 days.
NHS Nightingale Hospital North West is equipped to receive up to 750 coronavirus patients from across the region who do not need intensive care but still require treatment.
Construction started on Saturday 28 March, with the entire main central hall of the former Manchester Central railway station, 10,000 square metres in total, designated as bed space.
It will be staffed by consultants, junior doctors, nurses, healthcare support workers, physiotherapists, pharmacists, occupational therapists, social workers, and a huge range of non-clinical support workers and administrators.
Michael McCourt, the chief executive of the temporary hospital in Manchester Central Convention Complex, wrote on Twitter: “Proud & thankful to be able to say we take our first patients today.
1st tweet as CEO NHS Nightingale North West. Proud & thankful to be able to say we take our first patients today. In 14 days huge NHS, Army & NHS partner effort this hospital is open. A lot of attention on us but don’t want to forget we are here to support an already busy NW NHS.
— Michael McCourt (@MichaelMcCourt1) April 13, 2020
A spokesman for NHS England confirmed the hospital is ready to take patients but could not say when the first patients are likely to be admitted.
The facility is one of seven Nightingale hospitals being built around the country. Temporary hospitals in Bristol, Harrogate, Wearside and Exeter are also being built.
A temporary mortuary has also been opened in Greater Manchester as part of the contingency planning for the coronavirus outbreak.
The facility, in Trafford Park, will be staffed by specially trained Greater Manchester Police officers and staff.
UK coronavirus death toll increases by 717
The UK coronavirus death toll has risen to more than 11,000 as a further 717 patients died after testing positive, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced.
As of 9am 13 April, 367,667 tests have concluded, with 14,506 tests on 12 April.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) April 13, 2020
290,720 people have been tested of which 88,621 tested positive.
As of 5pm on 12 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 11,329 have sadly died. pic.twitter.com/AijH4hfOV1
Updated
667 new deaths have been recorded in England today
There have been 667 new deaths recorded of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 10,261, NHS England has announced.
Of the 667 new deaths announced today, 118 occurred on April 12 while 537 took place between 1 April and 11 April, PA Media reports.
The remaining 12 deaths occurred in March, with the earliest new death taking place on 26 March.
NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including new deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago.
This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for post-mortem tests to be processed, and for data from the tests to be validated.
The figures published today by NHS England show that April 8 currently has the highest total for the most hospital deaths occurring on a single day – 737 – although this could change in future updates.
Updated
Hi, this is Nicola Slawson in sunny Shropshire, UK. I’m taking back the reins of the liveblog now.
As before, please do share any thoughts, insight or news tips with me via any of the channels below. I might not have time to respond to all of you but I will certainly try and read them. Thank you.
Twitter: @nicola_slawson
Instagram: @nicola_slawson
Email: nicola.slawson@theguardian.com
Public Health Wales said a further 313 people had tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 5,610.
Dr Robin Howe, from Public Health Wales, said:
Fifteen further deaths have been reported to us of people who had tested positive for Covid-19, taking the number of deaths in Wales to 384.
We offer our condolences to families and friends affected, and we ask those reporting on the situation to respect patient confidentiality.”
The This Morning co-host Eamonn Holmes has been criticised and branded “irresponsible” for comments he made on 5G and coronavirus.
He spoke out on the ITV show after the presenter Alice Beer branded the conspiracy theories which link them as “ridiculous” and “incredibly stupid”.
Holmes, who was co-presenting with his wife, Ruth Langsford, responded that “it’s very easy to say it is not true because it suits the state narrative”.
He added:
I totally agree with everything you are saying but what I don’t accept is mainstream media immediately slapping that down as not true when they don’t know it’s not true.
No one should attack or damage or do anything like that but it’s very easy to say it is not true because it suits the state narrative.
That’s all I would say, as someone with an inquiring mind.”
Holmes made the remarks after scientists dismissed any link, calling it a “physical and biological impossibility” and branding “conspiracy theorists ... a public health danger”.
Updated
The UK has conducted 18,000 coronavirus tests in 24 hours
Here are the top lines from the lobby briefing today:
- Downing Street has said the number of tests being carried out for coronavirus is running at 18,000 a day. That is well short of the target of 100,000 tests a day set by Matt Hancock, the health secretary, for the end of the month, and short of the 25,000-a-day target that Boris Johnson said he hoped to achieve within a month on 18 March. But the prime minister’s spokesman refused to accept that the government was behind schedule. He said that there were now 23 drive-through sites where people could be tested. “New capacity is coming on-stream all the time,” he said.
- The cabinet may not be involved in the decision on extending the lockdown, the prime minister’s spokesman revealed. Although it normally meets on a Tuesday, no meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow. With Boris Johnson recovering at Chequers after his spell in intensive care, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, is deputising in his absence. The government has to take a decision about extending the lockdown by Thursday, which is when the regulations covering England need to be reviewed. The spokesman did not say exactly how or when this would be taken, but he said the main work coordinating the government’s response to coronavirus was being taken by the morning No 10 meeting, which is chaired by Raab, and by the four coronavirus ministerial groups. The spokesman said that any decision to extend the lockdown would have to be reviewed again after three weeks. It is thought inevitable that the lockdown will be extended, and the spokesman told journalists that when the decision is formally announced, the government would “set out the reasoning behind the decision as soon as it is taken”.
- Johnson is not doing any government work in Chequers, the spokesman said. He told journalists: “The prime minister is focusing on his recovery and he is not currently carrying out government work.” And the PM is not receiving red boxes containing government papers at the moment, the spokesman said. The spokesman said he did not receive any while he was in hospital. A briefing early last week suggesting that he would be getting red boxes turned out to be wrong, the spokesman said, because the PM’s condition deteriorated.
- The spokesman denied claims that No 10 had given misleading accounts of how ill the prime minister was. It was put to the spokesman that the PM’s own account yesterday of how he might have died contrasted with reports that he was only admitted to hospital as a precaution and that he was “in good spirits” throughout his time there. The spokesman said all the information given to journalists “was provided by St Thomas’ Hospital”.
- The spokesman defended the decision to test Michael Gove’s daughter for coronavirus. After she developed coronavirus symptoms Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, said he would be self-isolating with her and the rest of his family at home, in line with government guidelines, but today it emerged that Gove is no longer self-isolating because his daughter tested negative. The spokesman said this was done on the advice of Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, because Gove is one of the figures leading the government’s response to coronavirus. Asked why he could not work from home, the spokesman said Gove chairs one of the key ministerial groups dealing with coronavirus (the one covering the public sector as a whole) and it was “beneficial” for him to be able to go into the office.
- The spokesman said that the Department for Health and Social Care was committed to carrying out a full investigation into the death of every NHS worker from coronavirus.
Updated
The prime minister’s spokesperson described how ill Boris Johnson was during his stay in hospital:
As we set out, his condition did worsen over the course of last Monday afternoon and he had to be moved to the intensive care unit.
Now, clearly, if a person is moved to intensive care, that means that they are requiring a significant level of specialist treatment.
So, I think it was clear from the moment the prime minister was moved to intensive care that his condition had worsened.”
Updated
Good afternoon. I’m Gregory Robinson, taking over the UK live blog for the next hour. If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter to share insight or send tips, I’m on @Gregoryjourno or send me an email at gregory.robinson@guardian.co.uk
The prime minister’s official spokesman said that Boris Johnson tested negative for Covid-19 on leaving hospital.
Asked about the prime minister being tested before he left hospital, Johnson’s spokesman said: “I’m told it is standard practice in hospital to do that. And the results came back negative.”
Scotland’s interim chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith has urged families of those who have died during the outbreak not to delay funerals, in a bid to stop a backlog.
He said:
The sector can cope if everyone understands and appreciates the circumstances that we find ourselves in and continues to arrange a funeral for loved ones as normal, and I do stress, without delay.
At this time, it’s very important that people do not delay funerals of their loved ones.
It’s important that people are able to grieve the passing of a loved one, but delaying the funeral in anticipation of social distancing measures being lifted could increase strain on funeral and mortuary services responding to coronavirus.
Updated
Nicola Sturgeon has said that £17m of a £50m fund has been earmarked for charities supporting people through the crisis.
The first minister said that £10m of that had been allocated for “immediate priorities” and the further £7m would be handed out in small grants to around 2,000 charities.
She added: “We know that third sector organisations are playing a vital part in protecting people’s welfare and wellbeing during this crisis.
“We want to do everything we can do to support them.”
The remaining £33m is open to bids from charities, Sturgeon said as she encouraged third sector groups to apply.
She also announced a new helpline to support people who are vulnerable but not in one of the shielded groups. The helpline, which will open on Tuesday, is intended for those who are elderly, pregnant, in need of mental health support or in receipt of the flu jab.
The first minister said: “If you are in one of these groups and are not already receiving shielded support, this free helpline is open to you.
“The number is 0800 111 4000.”
The helpline is intended to help those in the groups outlined by the first minister who do not have the family or community support to help them.
Updated
Scotland’s first minister has said she wants to give an assurance to those concerned about the number of cases in care homes that the government is working with the Care Inspectorate to take action.
Nicola Sturgeon said:
I want to give a very strong assurance firstly, that we’re working hard with the Care Inspectorate to provide appropriate support to care homes, their staff and their residents.
Secondly, we’re working hard to ensure that we can publish full and robust information about numbers of cases in care homes, which we hope to do later this week.
Updated
Nicola Sturgeon started her daily coronavirus briefing by thanking the people of Scotland who respected government guidelines over the Easter weekend.
However, the first minister added that an upcoming review of the measures was unlikely to see them lifted.
She added: “We must stick with it.”
A total of 575 patients have died in Scotland, up by nine on Sunday
A total of 575 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by nine from 566 on Sunday, Nicola Sturgeon said at the start of her daily briefing.
The Scottish first minister said 6,067 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 155 from 5,912 the day before.
She cautioned however that some health boards have not reported positive case figures yet, and that death figures are often lower after the weekend.
There are 211 people in intensive care with coronavirus or coronavirus symptoms, a decrease of 10 on Sunday, she added.
And 1,797 people are in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19.
Updated
My colleague Sarah Johnson would like to speak to paramedics about their work. Drop her an email if that’s what you do and you want to talk.
I'm looking to talk to paramedics about their work in coronavirus times. It can be on an anonymous basis. If you can help, please email sarah.johnson@theguardian.com
— Sarah Johnson (@sajajohnson) April 13, 2020
Her email is sarah.johnson@theguardian.com.
The UK’s fire services are at risk of being put on a “dangerous knife-edge” as the coronavirus pandemic forces almost 3,000 workers to self-isolate, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has warned.
General secretary Matt Wrack said that while crews were currently maintaining services, this would become “increasingly difficult” as the virus spreads.
Services have already lost 11,500 firefighters and control staff since 2010 due to austerity. Now, they're losing another 3,000 staff to coronavirus self-isolation.
— Fire Brigades Union (@fbunational) April 13, 2020
We urgently need testing for frontline emergency services.#coronavirusUK pic.twitter.com/7K8VXMGzFl
According to the FBU, the number of staff unable to work represents 5.1% of the sector’s overall personnel of 58,426.
This includes just under 2,600 operational firefighters and control room staff self-isolating, out of a total of 48,295.
The union is calling for the government to roll out testing to allow those who do not have coronavirus to return to work.
Wrack said:
Currently, crews are maintaining services, but this will become increasingly difficult as the virus spreads.
There are already thousands of firefighters and control staff in self-isolation, only a fraction of which will have the disease.
If we aren’t able to find out exactly who is infected, and more staff isolate unnecessarily, services will be put on a dangerous knife-edge.
The FBU also warned that fire control rooms, which handle 999 calls and have fewer staff, have been the worst-hit in some areas, with some losing 15.9% of staff.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, chaired a meeting focused on the coronavirus outbreak on Monday morning, Downing Street said.
The Ministry of Defence has also deployed 200 military personnel across the country in support of ambulance services.
Downing Street said they would carry out a variety of roles including driving vehicles, taking calls, manning response centres and supporting paramedic crews.
Parents of children with serious illnesses are failing to bring them to hospital out of fear their youngsters will catch Covid-19, according to a leading doctor.
Dr Sanjay Patel, a consultant in paediatric infectious diseases at Southampton children’s hospital, said fewer severely ill children were being brought to its emergency department with conditions such as appendicitis, dehydration and sepsis, PA Media reports.
He said some parents were assuming that all illnesses were being caused by coronavirus or were not seeking healthcare due to fears over catching the virus.
He has now helped develop national guidance on children’s health to enable parents to assess when they should be seeking help.
It consists of a red, amber and green traffic light system advising parents of which symptoms require them to seek urgent medical advice and the options available to them.
Patel said:
These are extremely challenging and worrying times for families and I can’t stress how important it is to follow the government advice about social distancing in order to slow down the speed of Covid-19.
However, I’m really worried there is a very real risk that some children with illnesses such as appendicitis, dehydration or even sepsis are not being brought to see healthcare professionals as quickly as they would be normally.
He continued: “We know that the message about Covid-19 is so powerful and parents are putting most children’s illnesses down to this.
“The other issue is that they are just too scared to bring their child to see a healthcare professional because they are worried that they might pick up Covid-19.”
Updated
A comment piece about the Nightingale hospital in East London published by HuffPost is being widely shared. The article by an anonymous ITU doctor raises concerns about whether the field hospital is fit for purpose.
The doctor says:
Critical care is not a specialty in which we can rapidly upskill people. I do not want to disparage those who’ve already put themselves forward; I admire their dedication to the public.
However, the nature of critical care requires difficult decisions to be made, often backed by years of experience. It is not a matter of watching a few instructional videos or reviewing a cobbled-together management guide as many of my colleagues have been asked to do.
These are well-meaning and helpful, but do not replace years of clinical experience.
Actor Christopher Eccleston has said he hopes the NHS will no longer be a “political football” following the coronavirus pandemic.
The ex-Doctor Who star said there should be “no more threats to the NHS”.
Eccleston told TV show Lorraine:
I’m hoping now... that the world has changed, the NHS will no longer be a political football for any of the parties and that it is protected because it is the greatest expression of Britain we have.
It’s our nation’s conscience and now it is saving our lives and a lot of people are doing it without protective equipment.
Asked how he was coping with the lockdown, Eccleston said that keeping healthy was helping, but added he doesn’t know how he would handle it if he was “in a tower block without a back garden”.
He told the ITV show: “Exercise has helped me. I’ve cut down on the booze ... because I’m thinking if I can protect my immune system ... my aim is to be able to handle it without going to hospital. If I can keep myself away from the NHS, if somebody older ... needs a bed they’d get the bed.”
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This is Nicola Slawson taking over the liveblog. Thanks for joining me.
Please do share any thoughts, insight or news tips me via any of the channels below. I might not have time to respond to all of you but I will certainly try and read them all. Thank you.
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Britain is at its best when faced with a crisis, the Duke of Cambridge has said, as he checked in on how small charities are coping during the coronavirus pandemic.
William praised the community spirit that “comes rushing back” in times of adversity as he spoke to some of the first beneficiaries of National Emergencies Trust (NET) funding.
The future king has been appointed as the trust’s first patron, and video-called members of grassroots charities to discuss the challenges they are facing and how the emergency funding is helping them to support their communities.
Speaking to a representative of Moorlands Community Charity, he praised the public’s response to the crisis.
I think Britain is at its best, weirdly, when we’re in a crisis. We all pull together and that community spirit and that community feel comes rushing back quicker than anything else.
The NET said £12.5m has been distributed since the emergency appeal was launched with William’s help last month.
In footage of the latest royal video call to be released amid the pandemic, William gave a “virtual high five” to the Moorlands charity, passing on his good wishes for the “fantastic job” its members are doing.
The organisation, which has seen a significant rise in referrals to the service since the outbreak of Covid-19, is delivering meals to isolated households and ensuring vital products such as baby powder and nappies - which were affected by panic-buying - are provided to those most in need.
Around 50m pints of beer could go to waste if pubs remain closed into the summer because of lockdown.
Tom Stainer, chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), estimates the UK’s 39,000 pubs have, on average, 15 barrels in their cellar at any given time.
Kegs usually contain either 11 or 9 gallons each, and the best before dates on pasteurised beer - including most lagers - is usually three to four months after delivery, while real ales and other unpasteurised beer can last 6-9 months.
“It’s a very sad waste of all the work and talent that goes into producing great beer,” Stainer told the BBC. “People won’t get to drink it and all those resources have been used up for nothing.”
Alcohol sales in supermarkets rose by 22% last month, after pubs, restaurants and bars were closed on 20 March.
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The son of a doctor who died after contracting coronavirus, having previously raised concerns over the lack of protective equipment, said he was “so proud” of his father for holding the government accountable.
Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury’s son, Intisar, told Good Morning Britain: “He really didn’t want to convey his own fears about his own life and the lives of his co-workers to me and my sister.
“When he wrote that letter [about the lack of PPE] he was in such an ill state, a painful state, he was unable to vocally communicate with me, or my sister or my mother.
“But he still made sure that on behalf of his co-workers and colleagues that he would hold the government accountable for not providing enough protection for NHS frontline workers and I am so proud of him for that.”
Intisar went on to say that Priti Patel’s statement in a press conference that she was “sorry if people feel there have been failings” over PPE, was “not a real apology”.
“There have been failings, and I’ve seen those failings happen,” he said. “The government aren’t on the frontline, our NHS workers are, so they need to make sure that our NHS workers are properly equipped to fight this disease and protect our society in general.
“Those NHS workers then have their own families that they need to protect - this was my father’s message the whole time and I’m just trying to convey that.”
‘He really didn’t want to convey his own fears about his own life and the lives of his co-workers to me and my sister.’
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) April 13, 2020
We’re speaking to Intisar who is the son of Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury who died of the coronavirus last week after raising concerns over the lack of PPE. pic.twitter.com/0WKf2MtzGG
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More than 100 coronavirus-related fines have been issued in three days in Northern Ireland, police said.
Officers broke up barbecues and a small number of large house parties, assistant chief constable Alan Todd said.
Some parents were also believed to have left their children to play at friends’ houses.
Todd told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme: “We engage with people, it is only when people won’t take the encouragement we end up having to enforce the matter.”
A total of 107 fines were imposed in three days over the Easter period.
House parties involved some dozen or more people, although some were bigger, Todd said.
Police stepped up their patrols at coastal beauty spots over the weekend and said the majority of people complied with restrictions designed to limit spread of the virus.
The parents of a New Zealand nurse praised by the prime minister for the care she gave him have said they are “exceptionally proud” of their daughter.
One of the nurses named by Boris Johnson in his video message yesterday as Jenny from Invercargill, on New Zealand’s South Island, has been identified as Jenny McGee.
Speaking to Television New Zealand, her mother, Caroline McGee, said: “It makes us feel exceptionally proud obviously.
“But she has told us these things over the years and it doesn’t matter what patient she is looking after, this is what she does.”
She added: “I just find it incredible that she, any nurses, can do this for 12 hours, sit and watch a patient and twiddle away with all the different knobs and things they do to keep their patients alive, it’s absolutely amazing.”
Jenny’s father, Mike McGee, also said: “I think over the years she has always told us that her job is one-on-one nursing with very critically ill people and that means she’s there all the time for 12 hours.
“So once we’d heard that Boris Johnson had gone into intensive care it was obvious that at some stage Jenny would possibly run into him and be giving him the same level of care that she would have given anybody else the week before or next week and we’re really proud of her.”
Johnson, who said the “NHS has saved my life, no question” after spending seven nights in St Thomas’, was discharged at the weekend.
Lockdown measures to be reviewed this week
A review of lockdown measures will take place later this week after the hospital coronavirus death toll rose above 10,000.
Ministers have said they want to be sure the UK is past the peak of the outbreak before easing the restrictions, but 10 members of the cabinet are reportedly urging lockdown conditions to be eased amid concerns about the impact on the economy.
The Times quoted an unnamed minister as saying it was important not to do “more damage”, and measures could be eased after another three weeks.
Scientific advisers will meet on Tuesday ahead of the formal review of the strict physical distancing measures on Thursday, the deadline set out in law.
The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, who warned during his budget last month that the UK risks falling into recession as a result of disruption caused by coronavirus, has injected £14bn from the coronavirus emergency response fund into the NHS and local authorities.
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If 60% of the population used the contact tracing app currently being developed by the NHS, the country’s coronavirus epidemic could be suppressed, said Christophe Fraser, a professor at the University of Oxford helping to create it.
“If 60% of population were to use this app and adhere to it, that could be enough to suppress the epidemic,” the told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
However, smaller uptakes would also be effective he said.
Explaining how the app works, Fraser said: “It enables different phones that have the app installed to exchange low energy Bluetooth signals
“Over a period of time, as you move around and have contacts with people, your phone has a recorded anonymised ID of people who you have been in contact with.
“If you develop Covid, an anonymous message is sent to those contacts advising them to social distance and quarantine themselves, and look out for symptoms.”
He said people would be free to choose whether they download the app, and would consent to their phone exchanging the Bluetooth signals and sending out the anonymised details of your whereabouts in the case of an infection.
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The government’s public health message on coronavirus has “not been culturally sensitive” and language barriers could mean some are inadvertently breaching guidance, according to Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association.
“There are issues around public health messaging; it has not been culturally sensitive and there are language barriers,” Dr Nagpaul told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“If you aren’t getting that message across, it wouldn’t take a lot for you to be inadvertently falling foul of this guidance.”
He also called for the government to urgently investigate if and why people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are more vulnerable to the virus.
He said it may be groups with higher instances of hypertension and coronary heart disease are more at risk, or socioeconomic factors.
“Overcrowding is much higher in black and ethnic minority populations,” he said. “If you’re in an overcrowded environment, you’re not able to social distance.
“Some of these households are multi-generational, so younger workers could bring the virus home. Key workers can’t socially distance and isolate.”
He also said that research has shown that BAME doctors are usually less likely to raise concerns. “I really hope we’re not in a situation where doctors from BME backgrounds are putting themselves in harm’s way because they’re not speaking out,” he said.
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Wearing face masks and establishing “neighbourhood health watches” are effective means of tackling the spread of coronavirus, according to Dr David Nabarro, World Health Organization special envoy.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Nabarro said the world shortage of masks - particularly the more protective N95 masks - means health workers should be prioritised, but he thinks more widespread use of masks will come.
He also said “neighbourhood health watches” and effective coronavirus helplines for people to get quick medical advice would help stop community transmission.
He said the “virus isn’t going anywhere” and people will have to get used to physical distancing and wearing face masks as a way of life. “It is a revolution,” he said.
He added that environments where humans are in close contact with animals, such as the wet markets which have just reopened in Wuhan, do pose risks.
“There are real dangers in these kind of environments for pathogens jumping between animals and humans,” he said.
“It’s partly the markets but also other areas where animals and humans are in close contact ... we have similar concerns about bushmeat.”
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Documents seen by Guardian show tech firms are using information to build a “Covid-19 datastore”.
Technology firms are processing large volumes of confidential UK patient information in a data-mining operation that is part of the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Palantir, the US big data firm founded by the rightwing billionaire Peter Thiel, is working with Faculty, a British artificial intelligence startup, to consolidate government databases and help ministers and officials respond to the pandemic.
Data is also being used by Faculty to build predictive computer models around the Covid-19 outbreak.
One NHS document suggests that, two weeks ago, Faculty considered running a computer simulation to assess the impact of a policy of “targeted herd immunity”. Lawyers for Faculty said the proposed herd immunity simulation never took place.
NHSX, the digital transformation arm of the National Health Service that has contracted the tech companies to help build the “Covid-19 datastore”, said the technology would give ministers and officials “real-time information about health services, showing where demand is rising and where critical equipment needs to be deployed”.
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Nearly 200 members of the armed forces are being loaned to NHS ambulance services to support their work during the pandemic, the Ministry of Defence has said.
Personnel from all three strands of the armed forces will be sent to work at five ambulance trusts.
Although their responsibilities will vary depending on the area, the new duties will include driving ambulances and taking calls from the public.
Eighty service personnel will be sent to the South Central Ambulance Service NHS foundation trust where they will drive emergency response vehicles, larger ambulances and work at the response centre which covers five counties around London.
In London, 21 medical personnel from the armed forces will form 10 critical care transfer teams to transport patients who need to be moved between intensive care units.
Engineers from the army are also supporting the London ambulance service to maintain suction units used in ambulances.
In Wales, 60 soldiers finished their two-day ambulance training at the Sennybridge Training Camp near Brecon on 7 April, ready to be deployed across Wales to assist paramedics with non-clinical tasks.
Thirty-seven military personnel have been deployed to the East of England ambulance service, which covers six counties including Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire, to assist with tasks including driving and logistics.
The group all volunteer as emergency responders in their free time and have previously trained with the service.
Members of the RAF are already assisting the Scottish ambulance service with a trial of a medical isolation and transport system, using RAF Puma helicopters to take critically ill people to hospital.
The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said:
Our armed forces always step forward at the appearance of threats to the country and its people.
Across the United Kingdom, soldiers, sailors, airmen and women have got the backs of our NHS colleagues as they confront coronavirus.
Members of the armed forces have helped with the response to the outbreak in a variety of ways.
Military personnel were involved in the planning and building of the first NHS Nightingale hospital at the ExCel exhibition centre in east London, as well as its equivalents across the country.
Armed forces personnel, made up of 39 drivers and 63 drivers’ mates, have also been trained to fill and transport oxygen tankers to NHS facilities.
The Ministry of Defence said there were hundreds of personnel delivering supplies of PPE for the NHS.
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Public services to get £14bn to tackle coronavirus
More than £14bn from the coronavirus emergency response fund will go to public services, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has confirmed.
The funds will bolster the NHS and local authorities, the Treasury said.
The chancellor launched an initial £5bn spending package for the coronavirus fund in the March budget.
Sunak said:
Our public services and its incredible workers are working with immense resolve and skill to keep us safe.
We depend on them, which is why we are doing everything we can to provide our NHS, local authorities and others, with the resources and tools they need to tackle the virus.
From the start, I’ve been clear our vital public services will get whatever they need to protect this country and its people from coronavirus.
The Treasury said the funding includes more than £6bn “to support our health services, free up hospital beds and deliver urgent priorities, including acquiring ventilators, diagnostic tests and protective equipment for NHS staff”.
The spending involves £6.6bn for health services, the Treasury said, and £1.6bn for local authorities.
The funding also includes £3.5bn “to ensure vital rail services continue to operate now and in the future for those who rely upon them for essential journeys”, according to the government.
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Prisoners were refused breakfasts, soap and cleaning materials during the current lockdown in jails, after they failed to register their requests on to a computer system, the Guardian has learned.
The sanctions were lifted after a lawyer wrote to the justice secretary saying cleanliness in these times is an “issue of life or death”.
Last Monday, four prisoners at HMP Ashfield near Bristol, privately operated by Serco, were told they would not receive their breakfast packs for two weeks because they had failed to register their orders before the cut-off period.
During the current Covid-19 lockdown in all prisons, soap and cell-cleaning materials have been included in the packs at Ashfield.
When normal regimes are operating in prisons, inmates have extended association periods, in which they can shower, phone families and friends, and use computer terminals to book visits and medical appointments.
But with prisons in lockdown mode, inmates have only a short time in which to shower and make applications, including ordering meals on a dedicated computer terminal, which some prisoners find difficult to operate.
On Tuesday, the barrister Paul Omar wrote to the justice secretary, Robert Buckland, saying the reduction of the men’s food allowance contravened prison rules.
The letter, seen by the Guardian, states that, “were the issue only food, it would be grave enough but given the packs contain personal hygiene and cleaning materials, this aggravates the matter, given the ongoing pandemic, when cleanliness is an issue of life or death.”
The letter concludes: “For such a restriction to remain in place in this period, aggravating, as is does, issues of health and hygiene, is clearly unlawful.”
Martin Booth, Serco’s director at Ashfield, said: “It is a long standing practice that prisoners order their breakfasts from the terminals on the wings.
“If for any reason a prisoner has failed to do so, they can make a request and a replacement pack will be provided, as was done in the case in question.”
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With almost 3,000 fire and rescue workers in self-isolation across Britain, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is calling for the government to roll out testing to allow those who do not have coronavirus to return to work.
Fire crews have taken on extra tasks during the Covid-19 pandemic, including transporting personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing masks for frontline health workers to ensure they fit properly before use.
Firefighters have already agreed to drive ambulances, deliver essential items such as food to vulnerable people and retrieve dead bodies in addition to their core roles.
The FBU told the BBC that an eighth of staff in Bedfordshire are off work, while 10% of staff in London are self-isolating.
It added that while there were planned testing programmes in Scotland and Wales, and firefighters in Northern Ireland have already been tested, there was no such system for England.
The FBU general secretary, Matt Wrack, said services would be put on a “dangerous knife edge” if staff are forced to isolate unnecessarily.
Supply of gowns "hand-to-mouth" in some hospitals
The supply of clinical gowns in some NHS hospitals is “hand-to-mouth” according to Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers in England, which represents hospital trusts.
He said there are some concerns about a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in certain hospitals.
He told BBC Breakfast: “There is a range of personal protective equipment that needs to be delivered at the front line ... nearly all of that material is flowing in the way that trusts would like.
“The bit where there’s a particular problem was gowns, where we know that over the last 72 hours some trusts have run critically low on gowns.
“No trust, as far as I’m aware, has actually run out but some of the stocks are very very low.”
Hopson said the supply of gowns - imported from China - was “hand-to-mouth”.
He said the NHS ordered “a whole load of stock” weeks ago, but delays have been caused by the product sometimes failing safety tests, while other batches have been mislabelled - meaning the NHS has ended up with additional masks.
He said: “If everything had been flowing exactly as had been ordered and if all of the material had properly passed its safety test, there would not be an issue.
“This is all really hand-to-mouth in terms of gown delivery, and we need to get to a more sustainable supply.”
Hopson said those trusts with a surplus were being asked to share their supplies with neighbouring trusts, while alternative gowns were being sourced from elsewhere.
Emergency supplies had also been delivered to those most in demand, Hopson said.
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Good morning, I’m Jessica Murray and I’ll be taking you through the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak in the UK over the next few hours.
Feel free to get in touch via jessica.murray@theguardian.com or via Twitter (@journojess_)
As the UK death toll passed 10,000 yesterday, Boris Johnson praised the NHS for saving his life as he was discharged from hospital.
A New Zealand nurse who was praised by the prime minister for her care has been “blown away” by the recognition, her brother said.
Boris Johnson used a video post on Sunday to mention by name the medics who had looked after him, particularly “two nurses who stood by my bedside for 48 hours when things could have gone either way”.
Johnson said the “NHS has saved my life, no question” after spending seven nights in St Thomas’ in central London after contracting Covid-19 and was discharged at the weekend.
One of nurses mentioned by Johnson, Jenny from Invercargill on New Zealand’s South Island, has been identified as Jenny McGee.
Her brother Rob told the New Zealand Herald the family had spoken with McGee just as she was “about to head off to do another night shift”.
He told the paper:
We are all very proud of Jen, not just in the support she gave Boris - but what she has been doing helping everyday people.
Whilst she is blown away by Boris’s recognition, she is just really pleased to see the public recognition for the amazing work the NHS is doing - that made her really proud.
McGee attended the Verdon College in Invercargill, and they said the community was “so proud” and that she had wanted to be a nurse since leaving in 2002.
The school said: “Jenny is described by her past teachers as an absolutely delightful person and someone who had a caring and humble nature.
“Thanks Jenny for your courage, outstanding work and the example you have provided for everyone at this difficult time. Your old school community is so proud of you!”
Meanwhile, the mayor of the city, Sir Tim Shadbolt, told Stuff.co.nz: “It’s not very often a nurse from Invercargill saves the life of the British prime minister.”
The other nurse mentioned by Johnson - Luis, from near Porto in Portugal - has been named as Luis Pitarma and has been thanked by Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
A statement on the presidential website said: “President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has already personally thanked the nurse Luis Pitarma, and ... also thanks the commitment of all Portuguese health professionals who in Portugal and around the world are providing decisive help in the fight to the pandemic.”
The statement added that the president offered “encouragement that is also addressed to professionals of other nationalities who, reinforcing the National Health Service, provide an invaluable service to Portugal”.
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