VIRUS DEATHS RISE TO 1,000
Biggest day-on-day increase in UK fatalities as police enforce lockdown rules across Wales Welsh Government announces new blood test North: ‘I’m sure rugby players will take pay cut’
THE number of deaths from coronavirus in the UK can be kept below 20,000 if “every citizen in this country complies with the instructions the Government has given”, the national medical director of NHS England has said.
Professor Stephen Powis’ comments came as the death toll passed 1,000 yesterday.
The jump in Covid-19-related deaths from 759 to 1,019 is an increase of 260 – by far the biggest day-on-day rise in the number of deaths since the outbreak began.
More than 120,000 coronavirus tests have taken place, with more than 17,000 positive results.
In Wales, a further four people with coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to 38, health officials said.
The number of people who have tested positive is now at 1,093 after 172 new cases were announced, with the highest number again found in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area.
Public Health Wales did not provide details of the areas in which people had died, their ages or whether they had underlying health conditions.
The number of cases by health board are: Aneurin Bevan, 482; Betsi Cadwaladr, 64; Cardiff and Vale, 256; Cwm Taf, 90; Hywel Dda, 54; Powys, 19; and Swansea Bay, 104. There are six further cases of residents outside Wales and 18 are to be confirmed.
Earlier this week, the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board warned it was seeing “the same pattern as was seen in Italy” and said “huge effort” was required to stop the NHS becoming overwhelmed.
Dr Frank Atherton, the chief medical officer for Wales, had previously explained the higher numbers in Aneurin Bevan were due to increased testing.
The total number of deaths is 34% higher than the equivalent figure on Friday and the largest day-on-day percentage increase since March 18, when the total rose from 71 to 104 (46%).
It took 13 days for the number of deaths in the UK to go from one to more than 100. It has taken a further 10 days for the total to go from more than 100 to more than 1,000.
The number of people tested in the
UK for coronavirus was 120,776 as of 9am yesterday.
Prof Powis, speaking during the UK’s daily coronavirus briefing yesterday afternoon, said we could keep the number of deaths in the UK below 20,000 with the help of every citizen.
He said: “If we do reduce the deaths below what we initially thought, I want to be absolutely clear, that won’t be because we are somehow lucky.
“It won’t be because somehow the virus is acting in this country differently from any other country, it will be because every citizen in this country, the British public, have complied with the instructions the Government has given based on the best scientific evidence to reduce the transmission of the disease.”
He echoed the words of Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, saying: “If we can keep deaths below 20,000 we will have done very well in this epidemic.”
He added: “It is early at the moment and the scientists who are working with the Government to model what we can expect are of course adjusting their predictions now as we start to see the actuality of the epidemic in the UK, rather than what we believed might have happened a few weeks ago.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a video conference call this morning and continues to lead the Government’s efforts to combat Covid-19 as he self-isolates after testing positive for the illness, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said.
Mr Sharma said the Prime Minister is showing only “mild symptoms” of coronavirus. He said: “He continues to lead the Government’s effort in combating Covid-19, this morning he held a video conference call and he will continue to lead right from the front on this.
“What this has reminded us is that no one is immune and that is precisely why we ask people to follow the Government advice in terms of staying at home where they are able to do that. We want to make sure we protect the NHS and ultimately save lives.”
Mr Johnson has been accused of failing to follow his own social distancing rules after Health Secretary Matt Hancock tested positive and England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty began self-isolating with symptoms.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack also revealed he had developed mild symptoms and was self-isolating.
Mr Sharma also announced changes to insolvency rules to allow firms “greater flexibility as they face the current crisis”.
“It is crucial when the crisis passes, as it will, we are ready to bounce back,” he said, as he detailed measures to help businesses “emerge intact the other side of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
“These measures will give those firms extra time and space to weather the storm and be ready when the crisis ends whilst ensuring creditors get the best return possible in the circumstances,” he continued.
The new rules will allow companies undergoing restructuring to continue access to supplies and raw materials.
And, he said, there would be a temporary suspension of wrongful trading provisions for company directors to remove the threat of personal liability during the pandemic, which will apply retrospectively from March 1.
“However, to be clear, all of the other checks and balances that help to ensure directors fulfil their duties properly will remain in force.”
Companies required to hold annual general meetings will be able to do so flexibly in a matter compatible with public health guidance, Mr Sharma said.
“This might include postponing or holding the AGM online, or by phone using only proxy voting,” he said.
Meanwhile, work is under way across Wales to prepare for anticipated pressure on hospitals, mortuaries and testing centres. The Principality Stadium in Cardiff is to be converted into a field hospital to provide 2,000 extra beds to the NHS in Wales.
The Welsh Rugby Union had made the stadium available for use by the Welsh Government earlier this week and now a decision has been made to turn the venue into a makeshift hospital in an effort to cope with the growing pandemic.
In a statement, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board CEO Len Richards said: “It is difficult looking at the numbers to appreciate the size and the scale of the task ahead of us in the NHS. However we have been using the past few weeks’ wisely in order to put structures and processes in place across our main hospital sites, University Hospital Wales and University Hospital Llandough.
“In addition to this we have secured the Principality Stadium, Cardiff as a temporary field hospital with the capacity to hold up to an additional 2,000 beds.
“I understand the concern that this will cause, not only in the community but among my staff too. However we are planning on the basis of what we think we might need to ensure we are as ready as we can be. I sincerely hope we don’t need to use all of the capacity but it is far better to have developed plans based upon the scientific evidence and modelling of the experts.”
In other parts of Wales, the Parc y Scarlets rugby ground in Llanelli is having its indoor training pitch converted into a temporary hospital ward which will provide additional bed space for hundreds of people. The Bluestone National Park Resort in Pembrokeshire will become a recovery centre for coronavirus patients.
In England, London’s ExCeL Centre is being transformed to be able to take 4,000 patients, while the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham could hold up to 2,000 beds and Manchester’s Central Convention Centre could treat 1,000.