PM’S ‘REGRET’ OVER CARE HOMES:
THE PRIME Minister has said he “bitterly” regrets the Covid-19 crisis in the nation’s care homes as he expresses frustration over problems supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) to those in need.
Although hospital deaths are continuing to fall, ministers and officials have struggled to get a grip on the crisis in care homes -– where some of the most vulnerable people risk contracting the disease.
Boris Johnson, in his first Prime Minister’s Questions since himself recovering from the coronavirus and following the birth of his son Wilfred, spoke of a “massive plan” to increase PPE production in the UK.
Mr Johnson said: “There is an epidemic going on in care homes which is something I bitterly regret and we have been working very hard for weeks to get it down and a huge amount of effort has been gone into by literally tens of thousands of people to get the right PPE into care homes, to encourage workers in care homes to understand what is needed.”
He said there had been a “palpable improvement” in the situation in care homes in recent days.
The Prime Minister, having suggested that some lockdown restrictions could ease as soon as Monday, faced questions over further shortages in PPE as people prepared for a return to work.
Mr Johnson said “it has been enraging to see the difficulties we’ve had in supplying PPE to those who need it” but efforts were underway to increase production in the UK.
A total of 32,898 deaths have been registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, including suspected cases.
In Yorkshire, figures released by NHS England yesterday recorded 37 new deaths in the region’s hospitals, bringing the total number of people who have lost their lives to at least 1,969.
Mr Johnson is due to give a speech on Sunday outlining plans to begin easing the lockdown, suggesting some measures could come into force as early as Monday.
Downing Street has stressed that “it is not going to be a case of flicking a switch” to lift all measures at once, instead “people will have to prepare for a different type of normal”.
In an indication of the changed approach, Public Health England signalled the “stay home” message could be abandoned.
Ministers are also drawing up “detailed” plans for how workplaces can be adapted, outdoor spaces can be managed and public transport can operate.
Earlier, the Health Secretary had suggested that as measures are eased the public could return to pavement cafes.
“There is strong evidence that outdoors the spread is much, much lower, so there may be workarounds that some businesses, for instance cafes, especially over the summer, may be able to put into place,” Matt Hancock said in a frank interview with Sky News.