Elderly facing four months of isolation
THE UK’s coronavirus death toll rose to 35 as it was revealed the Government will ask elderly people to self-isolate for up to four months.
The Department of Health said 14 more patients have died in England after testing positive for Covid-19. This follows the 10 deaths announced on Saturday.
A total of 34 people have died from the virus in England, while there has been one death in Scotland.
NHS England said the patients whose deaths were announced yesterday were aged between 59 and 94, and they had underlying health conditions.
There have been a total of 1,372 positive tests for coronavirus in the UK as of 9am yesterday, up from 1,140 at the same time on Saturday, the DoH said.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said people aged over 70 will be asked in the coming weeks to self-isolate for up to four months, in order to protect them from the virus.
Asked if that time frame was in the Government’s plan, he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “That is in the action plan, yes, and we will be setting it out with more detail when it is the right time to do so, because we absolutely appreciate that it is a very big ask of the elderly and the vulnerable, and it’s for their own self-protection.”
He also confirmed that ministers were seeking to give police powers to arrest and forcibly quarantine people who are sick with the virus but are not self-isolating.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will urge manufacturers to shift their production lines to build ventilators, amid fears critical care facilities will come under pressure.
Mr Hancock said a Bill setting out emergency powers to deal with the outbreak will be published on Thursday, with details shared tomorrow. He said ministers are yet to decide whether to ban gatherings of more than 500 people in the rest of the UK, with Scotland bringing in restrictions from today.
Mr Johnson or one of his senior ministers will hold daily press conferences to update the public, Downing Street has said.
He will address the media over the pandemic today, alongside chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.