The UK’s coronavirus death toll rose to 35 as it was revealed the government will ask elderly people to self-isolate for up to four months.
The Department of Health said 14 more patients have died in England after testing positive for Covid-19. This follows the 10 deaths announced on Saturday.
A total of 34 people have died from the virus in England, while there has been one death in Scotland.
NHS England said the patients whose deaths were announced on Sunday were aged between 59 and 94, and they had underlying health conditions.
They were being cared for at the following: Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Mid Essex Hospital Service NHS Trust, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, North Manchester General Hospital, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust.
There have been a total of 1,372 positive tests for coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Sunday, up from 1,140 at the same time on Saturday, the DoH said.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said people aged over 70 will be asked in the coming weeks to self-isolate for up to four months, in order to protect them from the virus.
Asked if that time frame was in the government’s plan, he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “That is in the action plan, yes, and we will be setting it out with more detail when it is the right time to do so, because we absolutely appreciate that it is a very big ask of the elderly and the vulnerable, and it’s for their own self-protection.”
Pressed on when the measure will be introduced, he said: “Certainly in the coming weeks, absolutely.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will personally urge manufacturers to shift their production lines to build ventilators, amid concerns that critical care facilities will come under intense pressure as the Covid-19 crisis intensifies.
Engineers have already been asked to draw up plans to quickly produce more ventilators in the UK, with JCB confirming it had been approached by the prime minister regarding the production of such equipment.
The health secretary said a bill setting out emergency powers to deal with the outbreak will be published on Thursday, and details of what the powers will include will be shared on Tuesday.
Hancock said ministers are yet to make a decision on whether to ban gatherings of more than 500 people in the rest of the UK, after Scotland said it would bring in restrictions from Monday.
The government is in talks with private hospitals about the possibility of taking over beds, in a further sign of the pressures that will face the health service at the peak of the coronavirus outbreak.
There could also be a shift to household isolation rather than individual self-isolation.
Experts on the UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) set out the need for extra action to slow the spread of the disease, advising that the next interventions “will need to be instituted soon”.
Public Health Wales confirmed 34 new cases of Covid-19 in Wales on Sunday, bringing the total number confirmed in the country to 94.
Eleven new cases were confirmed in Northern Ireland, bringing the total number of known cases there to 45.
Meanwhile, the US government imposed a travel ban on the UK and Ireland in response to the pandemic, with restrictions effective as of 4am GMT on Tuesday.
Negotiations are also taking place with private health firms about access to their hospital beds.
Other measures, including school closures, have also been considered as an option to combat the spread of the virus.