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Boris Johnson spent a second night in intensive care with coronavirus symptoms and is in a “stable” condition and is “comfortable and in good spirits”.
And according to official figures released on Tuesday:
- An estimated 7,090 people have died in UK hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus – an increase of 936 in the 24 hours up to 5pm on Monday.
- An additional 3,634 people had tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday, bringing the total UK coronavirus cases to more than 55,000.
Global cases of the virus have now surpassed 1.4m and almost 82,000 people have died worldwide.
Here’s the latest on Covid-19:
Lockdown decisions to be made next week as former minister suggests possible one month extension
Downing Street said the three-week review of the coronavirus lockdown would go ahead as planned, with a decision made “on or around” the three-week mark on Monday.
At the same time, a Welsh government minister said restrictions would not be lifted in Wales next week – and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt suggested they could be in place nationwide for a month.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World at One, Hunt – who chairs the Commons health committee – said: “As we’ve seen from Italy and other countries, you don’t get a peak and then an immediate reduction, you stay at that peak level for some time.
“I think it’s perfectly reasonable to say that the lockdown is going to need to continue for a while and we don’t need to take this decision at the beginning of next week.”
PM ‘responding to treatment’ after second night in hospital
The prime minister is “responding to treatment” for his coronavirus symptoms, Downing Street said on Wednesday afternoon.
Providing an update on his condition on Wednesday afternoon, the PM’s spokesperson said: “The prime minister remains clinically stable and is responding to treatment.
“He continues to be cared for in the intensive care unit at St Thomas’ Hospital.”
Johnson has now spent two nights in intensive care in St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
The spokesperson added that he remained “in good spirits” and was “receiving standard oxygen treatment and is breathing without any other assistance”.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who is standing in for the PM where necessary, yesterday said he was “confident” Johnson would pull through and that the prime minister was a “fighter”.
Downing Street confirmed today Johnson is no longer working and Raab had been deputising for the PM since Monday evening.
More coronavirus deaths in Scotland than previously thought
New statistics show that 354 people are suspected to have died with coronavirus in Scotland since the outbreak began last month, 58 more than the tally on the Scottish government’s website.
The higher figure from the National Records of Scotland is a new monthly figure includes deaths registered where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, and can include possible or expected cases of the virus. By contrast, the official figures from the devolved authority include only deaths in hospital.
The new number covers a period from March 16 to April 5.
The lockdown is working, according to tracking app data
Researchers believe that the coronavirus lockdown is working as data from a tracker app suggests that the number of people aged 20 to 69 who are reporting Covid-19 symptoms has fallen from 1.9m to 1.4m across the UK.
The drop, by about 500,000 people since April 1, is indicated in analysis of data from the Covid Symptom Tracker app, which is used by more than 2m people.
Contributors can track their daily health on the specially created app, which is also being used by healthcare and hospital workers nationwide. Here’s more about the app itself.
The researchers behind the app, which was developed by a team at King’s College London, said their latest figures suggest that staying home is having a big impact on the spread of the virus in the UK.
They say the drop in new symptoms indicates that although the number of hospital admissions and deaths from Covid-19 are currently rising, they should start to fall in about two weeks’ time provided social distancing continues.
The team believes the two-week lag is caused by the delay between symptoms starting and becoming very severe.
14 transport workers have died
Fourteen public transport workers have died in the capital after testing positive for coronavirus, London mayor Sadiq Khan has said.
“They are in my thoughts and prayers and my condolences to their families,” he told Sky News.
Khan said the death toll includes nine bus drivers, as well as three Transport for London workers, an Underground employee and a worker for one of TfL’s suppliers.
Bus drivers last week told HuffPost UK they were being forced to work without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), and worried about being exposed to Covid-19.
“I’m scared about catching coronavirus and what it’ll mean for my family,” one said.
“Bus drivers matter, too; most of the national conversation has been about NHS workers’ rights and it’s an important discussion. But what about us? Who’s looking out for our interests?”
On Monday, a union called for London Underground drivers to be provided with masks and gloves to help protect them from contracting coronavirus.
Doctor who treated elderly dies after contracting coronavirus
A doctor who specialised in treating the elderly has died after testing positive for Covid-19.
Anton Sebastianpillai, who had a long association with Kingston Hospital in south-west London, died on Saturday, four days after being admitted to the intensive care unit, a spokeswoman said.
The consultant geriatrician, who qualified as a doctor in Sri Lanka in 1967, finished his last shift on March 20.
A spokeswoman for Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “It is with great sadness that I confirm the death of a consultant geriatrician who was part of the team at Kingston Hospital.
“Dr Anton Sebastianpillai died on Saturday having been cared for in the hospital’s intensive care unit since March 31.
“We would like to extend our sincere condolences to his family.”
Here are the NHS workers who have lost their lives due to coronavirus.
Trump threatens to stop US funding of WHO
US president Donald Trump has threatened to cease sending US funds to the World Health Organisation (WHO), claiming that the international body “missed the call” on the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump told reporters the WHO had “called it wrong” on the virus and that the organisation was “very China-centric” in its approach, seemingly suggesting that the WHO had gone along with Beijing’s efforts months ago to minimise the severity of the outbreak.
The WHO has praised China for its transparency on the virus, even though there has been reason to believe that more people died of Covid-19 than the country’s official tally.
Trump also claimed the UK has asked the US for 200 “desperately needed” ventilators.
“The UK called today and they wanted to know if it would be possible to get 200 (ventilators) and we’re going to work it out, we’ve got to work it out,” he told reporters at a White House press conference.
“They’ve been great partners. They wanted 200, they need them desperately”.
On Tuesday, the president reportedly added that he’s asked major, “genius” drug companies to “contact London” and attempt to assist Johnson during his period of ailment.
No.10 declined the offer of help.
In other developments:
- The NHS has launched a mental health hotline to offer support to hundreds of thousands of health workers on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus. We listed the support that’s available to NHS staff here.
- Former nurses from the Windrush generation described a sense of obligation to assist in the battle against Covid-19 in a series of insightful interviews. The government is inviting nurses and midwives who left service within the past three years to return to practice.
- Sainsbury’s has lifted buying restrictions on “thousands of products” to help customers shop for people in the vulnerable group who are unable to leave the house.