Extending the lockdown could have deadly consequences March 29, 2020 A week into what began as a three-week lockdown, the goalposts have been moved. Government ministers and health officials spent the weekend recalibrating expectations, making it clear that people must be prepared for these unprecedented measures to last into June, perhaps longer. The message from the government is that the measures cannot be lifted until [...]
Trump rolls back on New York coronavirus quarantine plan March 29, 2020 US President Donald Trump this weekend rowed back on suggestions that coronavirus-hit New York could be quarantined after criticism from the state’s governor. Trump said on Saturday afternoon that he might impose a ban on travel in and out of New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, the parts of the US worst-hit [...]
Coronavirus: Top central banker calls on governments and banks to do even more March 29, 2020 The head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has urged governments and central banks to do more to aid their economies threatened by the coronavirus crisis. On Sunday, Agustín Carstens, general manager of the BIS, an umbrella organisation founded to foster cooperation between the world’s central banks, said more stringent solutions were needed than [...]
Public support for Boris Johnson’s coronavirus response soars March 29, 2020 Public approval of Boris Johnson’s handling of the coronavirus has soared in the past week after announcing a police-enforced lockdown. A new ORB International survey has found that 67 per cent of Britons think the government has handled the coronavirus outbreak well – an 18 per cent increase from a week ago. A YouGov/Sky News also [...]
Coronavirus lockdown could last six months, says deputy chief medical officer March 29, 2020 The coronavirus lockdown could last up to six months or “plausibly” longer, according to deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries. In a press conference today, she said: “Over time, probably over the next six months, we will have a three week review [of the lockdown]. “So I think three weeks for review, two or [...]
Coronavirus: NHS warned in 2016 it could not handle a severe pandemic March 29, 2020 The NHS failed a major stress test three years ago to see if it could cope with a severe pandemic, but the results were never made public. The test revealed to ministers, including then health secretary Jeremy Hunt, that the health service would have a shortage of protective equipment, critical care beds and morgue capacity [...]
UK coronavirus lockdown could last until June March 29, 2020 The UK is set to to be in coronavirus lockdown until June, according to the government’s leading epidemiology adviser. Professor Neil Ferguson said it was “optimistic” that the UK’s lockdown measures would end by May, and that early June was more likely. It comes as Boris Johnson is set to write to every household in [...]
Coronavirus tests: UK reaches 10,000 per day target March 29, 2020 The UK has reached its target of administering 10,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of this week, according to Michael Gove. The chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster said the weekly target was reached yesterday and it’s “NHS and social care frontline workers who are first in line for those new tests”. However, Gove [...]
Boris Johnson will write to every UK household with coronavirus advice March 28, 2020 Boris Johnson is to write to 30m households across the UK to urge them to stay at home and protect the NHS. A letter from the Prime Minister will be posted to homes across all four UK nations from next week and outline the latest coronavirus advice. Johnson will urge the public to follow the [...]
UK coronavirus: Matt Hancock tests positive March 27, 2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock has tested positive for coronavirus, Downing Street has said, just an hour after Prime Minister Boris Johnson also revealed a positive diagnosis. The minister, responsible for coordinating the NHS response to the UK coronavirus outbreak, said he has had only mild symptoms. He will self-isolate until next Thursday, when he will [...]