An 16 – year-old is among a further 991 patients who have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus , bringing the total fatalities to 9, 980.
It is a drop from yesterday’s 980 deaths, which remains the highest recorded in a single day so far and even surpassed Italy and Spain’s worst days.
But it does put Britain on course to hit the grim , -death milestone on Easter Sunday, which the country will spend in lockdown.
The total cases also today jumped by 5, (to) , (after an additional) , 94 tests were performed, down 1, (from Friday.
NHS England reported a further patients had died in their hospitals in the past hours – the youngest was
Out of these England, 47 of these – aged between and 107 – had no underlying health conditions.
Scotland today confirmed a further 59 deaths, bringing the nation’s total fatalities to 542, while Northern Ireland’s tally hit (after an additional) deaths.
The rise in deaths came as police told Britons to remain indoors on a warm Easter bank holiday weekend, but were forced to have words with some flouting social distancing rules in the nation’s parks.
The police have been warned not to abuse their new beefed-up powers by Home Secretary Priti Patel, who will confirm today’s latest figures at the daily Downing Street press briefing this afternoon.
On another grim day in Britain’s coronavirus epidemic:
- A row erupted between Health Secretary Matt Hancock and a top nurse over his claims that medics were overusing personal protective equipment;
- Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer led the backlash over the Health Secretary’s claim that NHS staff were ‘wasting’ PPE;
- Mr Hancock revealed that of the 9, 980 who have died, were NHS workers;
- Downing Street said the Prime Minister was making extremely good progress with his recovery from coronavirus;
- Scientists said coronavirus can spread 15 FEET from sufferers – more than twice the 6ft social distancing gap demanded by government – and that isolating infected people at home is not a good strategy.
Former Home Secretary David Blunkett blasted ‘Sermon on the Mount’ coronavirus briefings by ministers and accuses officials of ‘hectoring’ people;
Paramedics take a patient into St Thomas’ Hospital, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson is recovering from coronavirus
A home made sign on the Yorkshire Moors warns visitors to go home as the country continues to live under lockdown restrictions
Matt Hancock speaking this morning
A row has erupted between the government and nurses after Matt Hancock again cautioned coronavirus medics against overusing personal protective equipment.
The Health Secretary insisted there was enough protective clothing to meet demand, but urged health workers to treat the gear like a ‘ precious’ resource.
His remarks, made this morning in a broadcast round, doubled down on comments made at yesterday’s Downing Street press briefing where he responded to report s from the frontline of a dire shortage of equipment.
Royal College of Nursing general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair said that no amount of PPE was’ more precious a resource than a healthcare worker’s life, a nurse’s life, a doctor’s life ‘.
She told BBC Breakfast: ‘I take offence actually that we are saying that healthcare workers are abusing or overusing PPE.
‘ I think what we know is, we don’t have enough supply and not enough regular supply of PPE.
‘This is the number one priority nurses are bringing to my attention, that they do not have adequate supply of protective equipment. ‘
Ms Patel, who has largely been absent from the government public response to the health emergency, is likely to double down on calls to stay indoors.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock this morning pleaded with the public to avoid going outside as the nation enters the critical period in the epidemic.
He said it is not clear if the UK has reached the peak of its outbreak, but acknowledged that hospital admissions were flattening.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: ‘The good news is we have seen the number of hospital admissions starting – starting, I stress – to flatten out.
‘You can see (from the Government’s charts) that instead of going up exponentially, as they would have done if we had not taken the measures, that they are starting to come down and flatten.
‘We haven’t seen that enough to have confidence to make changes.
‘ The answer to your question, about have we reached the peak, is nobody knows. ‘
Scientists braced Britons to breach the 16, death barrier tomorrow and told the public to obey social distancing rules.
Reacting to today’s figures, Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said: ‘The news of a further (COVID) deaths is very sad, but unsurprising.
‘The fact that an – year-old was amongst the victims is particularly distressing.
‘Only two weeks ago we saw the UK pass the threshold of 1, total deaths and we can expect that number to breach , 05 tomorrow.
‘It has become increasingly clear that younger people and those without underlying health conditions are at greater risk than had initially been expected, so it’s essential that people observe social distancing rules in order to start to halt the spread of the coronavirus. ‘
Of the 9, 980 who have sadly lost their lives, the Health Secretary this morning revealed that 29 NHS workers have been.
Mr Hancock said: ‘My heart goes out to their families, these are people who have put themselves on the front line.
‘ The work Is going on to establish whether they caught coronavirus in the line of duty while at work or whether, like so many other people, caught it in the rest of their lives.
‘It is obviously quite difficult to work that out. What matters is we pay tribute to their service. ‘
A police officer on a horse talks to sunbathers in Victoria Park, London, as Britons continue to bask in the glorious Easter sunshine
A group of eight police officers was seen walking past people taking their daily exercise in St James’s Park in central London
(UK braced for) (months of restrictions
Advice to work from home and stay in for seven days if you have symptoms will probably still be in place next year.
Ministers want to lift the most restrictive parts of the lockdown, including school and shop closures, within weeks.
But senior Government sources say the only true ‘exit strategy’ is a vaccine or a cure. Until then, the UK will have to adjust to a ‘new normal’.
An official last night told The Telegraph that social distancing measures that have been placed upon Britons could be ‘indefinite’.
Official plans to encourage social distancing on a long term, voluntary basis, have also been discussed, as the government continues to hold talks on how long Britons can cope with the current measures. Some measures, such as remote working, could be left in place for longer.
Mr Hancock today became embroiled in a row after he responded to claims of a personal protective equipment shortage by urging medics not to overuse the gear.
Royal College of Nursing general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair also said that no amount of PPE was’ more precious a resource than a healthcare worker’s life, a nurse’s life, a doctor’s life ‘.
She told BBC Breakfast: ‘I take offence actually that we are saying that healthcare workers are abusing or overusing PPE.
‘ I think what we know is, we don’t have enough supply and not enough regular supply of PPE.
‘This is the number one priority nurses are bringing to my attention, that they do not have adequate supply of protective equipment. ‘
Reports have emerged from the front line of health workers forced to treat patients in homemade protective gear made from bin bags and curtains.
New Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer also weighed in to condemn Mr Hancock’s remarks as ‘insulting’.
He added: ‘It is quite frankly insulting to imply frontline staff are wasting PPE. There are horrific stories of NHS staff and care workers not having the equipment they need to keep them safe. The Government must act to ensure supplies are delivered. ‘
At yesterday’s Number 16 update, Mr Hancock assured that there is sufficient stock of face masks , gowns and gloves but admitted distributing them was proving a ‘Herculean logistical effort’.
This afternoon will mark the first time the Home Secretary will front one of the daily Downing Street briefings.
Before his hospitalization, Boris Johnson was front and center of the country war on the virus, but is currently recovering in St Thomas ‘Hospital after leaving intensive care.
A Downing Street spokeswoman today said:’ The Prime Minister continues to make very good progress. ‘
The former Home Secretary David Blunkett blasted the daily coronavirus briefings, saying they have become like a’ Sermon on the Mount ‘.
When asked about the police and political reaction to the crisis, Mr Blunkett responded saying people are being ‘hectored’, including during the daily coronavirus briefings which have been running since March 19.
He said: ‘Actually we talk, talk, talk and we hector people, I mean the daily press briefings now just become a Sermon on the Mount’.
Former Today program presenter John Humphrys claimed that the BBC was warning interviewers not to put ministers under pressure over the coronavirus crisis.
The veteran broadcaster, 83, made the revealing claim in his
column for today’s Daily Mail. He wrote: ‘I’m told BBC bosses are warning interviewers not to put ministers under pressure.’
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