Western Morning News (Saturday)
The things they say
■ “We are at a perilous moment in the course of this pandemic... In parts of the country the situation is again becoming very serious. Hospitalisations in the North West are doubling approximately every fortnight. They have risen by 57% in just the last week alone. Unfortunately we’re seeing hospitalisations in the over-60s rising sharply and the number of deaths from coronavirus also rising”
– Matt Hancock says there are difficult times ahead as he spoke at the NHS Providers
annual conference.
■ “It is deeply disappointing to wake up this morning to reports that new Covid-19 restrictions affecting millions of people in our city region, and across the North, could be in place within days, rather than hearing it during a genuine dialogue between ministers and local leaders.”
– Liverpool City Region
metro mayor Steve Rotheram reacts to leaked
plans to close pubs and restaurants in coronavirus hotspots next week to tackle
rising coronavirus cases.
■ “These are grave times for the environment, but I do believe with human ingenuity, and I do believe with younger generations speaking up like they are now, that they will not stand for this lack of hope, with this lack of idea that we can’t fix some of these big solutions”
– The Duke of Cambridge warns that the world’s future is at a “tipping point”. ■ “If there is one message to send out it must be that President Trump was 100% incorrect in his statements this week around flu and Covid and we must not let his words influence anything here”
– Dr Nick Scriven, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, reacts to new figures which suggest Covid-19 could be more deadly than flu and pneumonia combined. “We are by no means out of firepower and will use that firepower as appropriate, promptly and strongly, in response to any second and third waves (of Covid-19) where we think it’s necessary and appropriate to do that”
– Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey says policymakers will take prompt action to support the economy through a second or third wave of coronavirus.