Politics

Boris Johnson announces 405,000 people have answered call to join NHS fight


The Prime Minister has revealed 405,000 people responded to the call to volunteer for the NHS in just 24 hours after the appeal was launched last night.

Boris Johnson compared the number of people who had put their hand up to join the battle to the population of Coventry, as he thanked the public for answering the appeal.

“They will be absolutely crucial in the fight against this virus,” he said.

He said they will be bringing patients home from hospital, visiting pharmacies for medicine, and making phone calls to check on people staying at home.

The Covid-19 death toll in the UK rose to 437 this afternoon, following more people deaths in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Today’s nationwide figures have yet to be updated.

The PM used his daily Downing Street press conference today to emphasise to the nation the importance of staying home under the UK’s strict lockdown conditions, to ease pressure on the NHS.

“With your help we will slow the spread of the disease,” Mr Johnson said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses the Nation

The PM added that the country is coping “very well” in the face of the “most challenging circumstances”.

Public Health England (PHE) chief medical officer Chris Whitty said 3.5 million tests in development to determine who had already had Covid-19 were in the pipeline, but experts were eager to ensure they were ready for Brits to use.

“We need to evaluate whether these tests are accurate to be used by the general public.

“Inaccurate testing is something we should really be avoiding.”

He added: “this is not something we’ll suddenly be ordering on the Internet next week.

The government’s chief science adviser Sir Patrick Vallance added it would not be a “free-for-all,” as some people would be given priority for the tests once they became available.

It comes as wide-ranging emergency powers designed to tackle the coronavirus became law this afternoon, after the House of Lords backed the government’s bill.

People are being urged to stay home amid the outbreak

The UK coronavirus death toll for today is yet to be updated.

As the toll grows, the emergency powers have been set in place to ‘buy the NHS time,’ the government says.

The law changes include reducing the number of doctors required to sign off on sectioning those with mental health issues from two to one, while police would be given authority to force people infected with coronavirus to self-isolate.

The emergency powers came in after police forces nationwide shifted their focus to warning people to obey lockdown rules, including staying two metres apart in public and limiting daily outings to essential travel.

Footage emerged of officers ordering sunbathers to clear out of a park in Shepherd’s Bush, west London.

Police move on sunbathers on Shepherd’s Bush Green in west London

Mr Johnson urged everyone in the UK to continue following the rules, after the bill passed its final-hurdle today.

“We will beat this, we will beat this together, and we will do it by protecting our NHS, staying home, and that is how we will save lives,” he said. 

He told Brits: “If you can stay at home then you, overwhelmingly, should stay at home. That’s our most important advice.

“If it is absolutely necessary for you to go to work, or place of work, then it’s vital that your employer follows the rules as set out by Public Health England and ensures that you have the protections that you need.

“And the proper rules on social distancing do apply.”

Prince Charles was revealed today to be among the numbers who have fallen sick with the virus.

The PM thanked the 405,000 who signed up to be NHS volunteers

Buckingham Palace confirmed the heir to the throne contracted Covid-19, and he is said to be recovered from a mild case of the illness in Scotland.

And 21-year-old Chloe Middleton, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is thought to be the youngest British victim without severe underlying health conditions to die after falling ill with the virus.

The “beautiful and caring’ care home worker, whose family said she had mild asthma, died at home after being turned away by overstretched paramedics, the Mirror revealed today.

Chloe Middleton, 21, died after falling ill with coronavirus

A sliver of hope for locked-down Brits emerged today as Public Health England (PHE) confirmed millions of antibody tests should soon be available in the UK.

The ‘finger prick’ tests still under development are expected to be able to determine who has already had the virus, and could be available for delivery from Amazon and stocked in boots as early as next week.

The government remains under pressure to prioritise diagnostic testing for frontline medical staff, as NHS workers falling ill claim they are not being tested for coronavirus.

The government has not yet fulfilled the PM’s promise last week to boost 5,000 tests a day to 250,000.

The most common symptoms of the coronavirus are:

  • a dry, persistent cough
  • a fever

If you experience these symptoms, you should immediately self-isolate yourself for seven days.

It is not necessary to call NHS 111 unless your symptoms get more severe.

Some patients have reported fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath and aches and pains. Sneezing is not a symptom of the coronavirus.

Mr Johnson today told the press conference that the government was pushing to get the national testing rates up to 10,000 a day, then 25,000 with an eventual target of 250,000.

The PM said: “We’ve done many more tests – not that this is a competition – but we’ve done many more tests than other European countries,” as he insisted NHS staff would remain first in the queue.

PHE earlier said about 3.5 million of the antibody tests currently undergoing laboratory evaluation could be soon available.

It said doctors and nurses will be prioritised so they return to work as quickly as possible to rejoin the fight against Covid-19.

Whitty said in today’s press conference it was vital nurses and doctors get the antibody tests first so they could return to work.

The warmer summer weather is unlikely to banish the virus
A deserted Brighton beach in East Sussex as Brits follow lockdown orders to stay home amid sunny weather

The antibody tests would be effective as soon as one week after telltale symptoms such as a cough and fever subside, he said.

However he added that there was a global shortage of tests.

“This is a global problem – every country wants this new test for a disease that wasn’t being tested for anywhere three months ago,” he said.

“Everybody wants it so there is a global shortage and that’s a bottleneck for us.
“The next priority is to get critical workers back to work or to say to them, ‘You have got it’. We definitely would like that.”

Meanwhile, a long-awaited support package for self-employed people will be announced tomorrow, the PM confirmed during tonight’s press conference.

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Coronavirus outbreak

The UK’s self-employed workforce is desperate for action after finding themselves ineligible for sick pay or wage support packages despite losing work, as hundreds of thousands are forced to apply for Universal Credit.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to make the announcement about support for the self-employed tomorrow.

Asked about cases of profiteering off the coronavirus crisis, the PM today slammed people and businesses ‘exploiting’ the national emergency.

Mr Johnson said the Competition and Markets Authority already has powers to tackle the problem.

He added that the government was looking at government legislature, and at how the issue was deal with in Britain’s wartime history.

People can sign up to the NHS volunteer service at www.goodsamapp.org/NHS.





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