Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid, 49, has been self-isolating away from the show recently after her son developed a persistent cough. Despite being away from the show, the ITV favourite has been vocal on Twitter amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Susanna took to Twitter and hit out at the UK Government over the lack of protective equipment for NHS staff as she admits they are “crying out for help”.
Boris Johnson is facing growing pressure to get more personal protective equipment (PPE) to health workers after it was claimed some nurses were treating coronavirus patients “without any protection at all”.
In view of her 685,000 followers, Susanna wrote: “All I hear in these press conferences is ‘the equipment is on its way’ and we are ‘ramping up’ our capacity to cope. We have known about the threat for months. NHS staff are crying out for help.”
It comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) warned many hospitals and GP practices are facing “life-threatening shortages” of PPE, with one NHS procurement chief tweeting “God help us all”.
Many health professionals are worried that they may contract the virus during the course of their work and have highlighted their lack of facemasks, goggles, visors and gowns.
The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, according to the World Health Organisation.
At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for coronavirus.
The number of UK deaths from the virus has reached 1,651, with NHS England confirming a further 367.
Meanwhile, Susanna geared up for her return to the GMB studios today after two weeks in self-isolation.
But her brief departure from the studio didn’t mean she wasn’t involved in the main show.
Appearing via video calls, she contributed from her sofa and viewers still got their daily dose of bickering and eye-rolls from both Susanna and her outspoken co-host Piers Morgan.
Despite being reunited with her co-host, it didn’t take long for the pair to butt heads.
Welcoming back his co-star, Piers said: “Susanna is back with us,” to which she replied: “It’s good to be back in the studio.
“I really feel for people since the lockdown,” she added, before picking up on a comment her co-host had recently made.
“I know you took the mickey out of Jack Grealish for saying it’s seven days and it’s a real hardship. It actually is.
“It’s difficult being in lockdown,” Susanna explained, to which her colleague hit back: “It’s not that hard.”
“Piers, it is. If you’re in a tiny flat with small children,” Susanna tried to say, before she was cut off by her co-star.
After Piers tried to defend his previous statement about Aston Villa footballer Jack Grealish, his co-host added: “A lot of us are very lucky to have a place outside where we can walk and exercise.”
The Life Stories presenter added: “We’re not being asked to go and fight for our country.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV at 6am.
