Crisis will get worse before it gets better, warns PM
Johnson and NHS chiefs urge public to guard against complacency as UK’s virus death toll passes 1,000
BORIS JOHNSON has warned that “things will get worse before they get better”, as the NHS urged against complacency in the national effort to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
In a letter to go to every household, the Prime Minister states that the more “we all follow the rules”, the fewer lives will be lost over the coming weeks and “the sooner life can return to normal”.
His intervention, after becoming the first world leader to test positive for the disease, came as the UK death toll of those with Covid-19 rose above 1,000, by far the worst day yet, with 260 more fatalities taking the total to 1,019.
There were fears last night that Britain was following the course of Italy and Spain, with more deaths at this stage of the outbreak than any country other than Spain.
Yesterday, Stephen Powis, the medical director of the NHS, said it would be a “good result” if the number of people to die in the UK was below 20,000.
But he added that “now is not the time to be complacent” after a study suggested only an estimated 5,700 people in Britain would lose their lives, based on the current strategy of mass social distancing.
The paper was produced by scientists at Imperial College London, which previously suggested the virus would kill 260,000 if the country kept to its earlier, less restrictive, measures.
Prof Powis said: “The number of deaths that arise out of this epidemic in the UK, if it’s less than 20,000 ... that would be a good result, although every death ... is absolutely a tragedy. But we shouldn’t be complacent about that, although that would be a good result, it will only happen if we stop transmission of the virus.”
Prof Powis urged people to “really, really lock down,” adding that everyone had “the chance to save a life”. In other developments: Ministers from individual departments drew up rotas to avoid coming into contact with each other after Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, became the third Cabinet minister to develop coronavirus symptoms
The health service disclosed that 13 of the latest reported deaths had no underlying health conditions. Those who died were aged between 33 and 100
Adil El Tayar, 64, an organ transplant specialist, become the first working NHS surgeon to die from the virus
The NHS is preparing imminently to use blood donated by patients who have recovered from Covid-19, to treat victims of the disease in hospitals
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, suggests civil servants working on issues other than Covid-19 should be redeployed to conduct rigorous “contact tracing” of all confirmed cases, to help tackle a second wave of infections
The number of people signing up to the new NHS volunteer army reached 745,000 last night, just 5,000 shy of the Government’s new target
An order for 10,000 ventilators based on a proven design and built by a group of aerospace, automotive, engineering and medical firms is due to be announced by the Government tomorrow. Donald Trump separately said that Mr Johnson was “asking for ventilators” in a telephone call on Friday.
Yesterday Downing Street said Mr Johnson’s symptoms were still “mild” after he developed a temperature and cough on Thursday and tested positive later that evening.
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, who is also infected, is working from home in north London.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister chaired the daily meeting of his Covid-19 war cabinet from the study of No 11 Downing Street, where he is selfisolating, with meals and papers being
left at the door. He was due to lead a further meeting this afternoon. Mr Johnson’s letter to 30million households is the first of its kind since 2016, when David Cameron sent a government-produced leaflet setting out the case for voting to stay in the EU. It is being sent along with a leaflet outlining restrictions in place on leaving home, as well as explanations of Covid-19 symptoms and rules on self-isolating in the event they appear. In the letter, Mr Johnson states: “We must slow the spread of the disease, and reduce the number of people needing hospital treatment in order to save as many lives as possible. That is why we are giving one simple instruction – you must stay at home.”
Mr Johnson said he understood that many people were “deeply worried about the financial impact” of the Government’s restrictions, but he warned: “These rules must be observed.”
He added: “It’s important for me to level with you – we know things will get worse before they get better. But we are making the right preparations, and the more we all follow the rules, the fewer lives will be lost and the sooner life can return to normal.” Adil El Tayar, the organ transplant specialist who died, is thought to have contracted the virus while working at a hospital in the Midlands. This weekend, front-line workers were being tested at two drivethrough swab stations in Nottinghamshire and at Chessington World of Adventures. More sites were expected to open this week.
Yesterday, Prof Powis insisted that getting personal protective equipment to healthcare staff was an “absolute priority”, amid concerns that front-line staff still did not have the kit they required to avoid infections. But he declined to confirm if every hospital would get the same level of protection.
Speaking alongside Prof Powis at the Government’s daily press conference, Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, announced that red tape would be reduced to allow new producers of hand sanitiser to bring products to market as soon as possible. He said: “We’re removing administrative barriers to the production of hand sanitiser. By reducing red tape, new suppliers and businesses that produce ingredients for safe hand sanitiser will be able to bring their products to market in a matter of days.”
Last night, Prof Neil Ferguson, the Government’s epidemiology advisor, warned Britain should remain in lockdown until June to avoid the worst effects of the virus. “We’re going to have to keep these measures in place, in my view, for a significant period of time, probably until the end of May, maybe even early June,” he told the Sunday Times.
‘It’s important for me to level with you – we know things will get worse before they get better’