Coronavirus: Government prepared to give NHS ‘whatever it needs’
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said the Treasury is prepared to give the NHS “whatever it needs” to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Speaking just days before his first budget, Sunak gave his assurances that the government were prepared to spend as much money as necessary to stop the virus spreading further.
It comes after concerns from some in the health service that hospitals may not be prepared for the fallout as the number of confirmed cases surpassed 200 on the weekend.
Speaking to Sky News this morning, the chancellor said: “We’ve already deployed funds to the NHS for vaccine development and immediate response so that’s already happened.
“We stand ready to give the NHS whatever it needs.”
Sunak added that measures could also be taken to provide stimulus packages for businesses affected a Covid-19 downturn.
The FTSE 100 suffered a series of blows over the past two weeks, with the index falling by 3.62 per cent on Friday alone.
The virus also contributed to the downfall of Flybe, which fell into administration last week.
“You’re right this could be a challenging period for businesses…but it will be an impact for a temporary period of time,” Sunak said.
“There are policy levers we can take to ease the short term burden on business’ cash flow.
“These are businesses we think are viable, sustainable and we think have a bright future, but are going to have a temporary period of disruption.
“That’s where our interventions should be focussed.”
It comes as The Sunday Times reported that the government’s worst case scenario for Covid-19 is the death of 100,000 Britons.
When asked about the figure by Sky News, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon did not deny the figure.
She said: “We are looking at worst case scenarios, and these kind of figures are broadly, in terms of the worst case scenario figures that we face.
“But these are not forecasts.”