Workers’ call for protection

Hundreds of medical professionals have called for hospital staff to be given higher grade personal protective equipment because of growing concern over airborne transmission of coronavirus.

In an open letter to the Government, doctors, nurses and consultants say healthcare workers on general wards are three to four times more likely to contract Covid-19 than the general population.

They say intensive care unit staff – who have the best level of protective equipment - have about half the risk of catching the virus as staff on wards.

Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "Nursing staff and healthcare professionals need reassurance from ministers that they are sufficiently protected from the new variant."