The UK added 5,706 cases today and now has reported a total of 70,272 positive cases of COVID-19. We had all together tested 262,537 people as of 9am this morning.
As of 5pm yesterday, of those hospitalised in the UK, we have lost another 980 people to COVID-19. We now sadly have a total of 8,958 losses of life in hospitals. Losses of life in the community are reported by ONS with a 2 week delay.
Total cases and losses reported are:
England 58,817 / 8,114
Scotland 5,275 / 447
Wales 4,591 / 315
Northern Ireland 1,589 / 82
(The government haven't been reporting how many of the UK's positive testing cases have recovered.)
Rep. Of Ireland have 7,054 cases and 287 losses of life, and have not yet reported today.
There have now been 1,674,854 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is now 101,474. Already 371,858 people have recovered.
Sounds like Boris is capable of taking himself to the loo now, so good news there.
Today's UK briefing was hosted by Matt Hancock, Health Secretary, who started by saying this is a national effort. We all need to stay at home and avoid all of the temptations. Hospital staff are busy trying to keep people breathing, don't make their job worse. Share your responsibility.
Testing is getting better, with our highest number of tests yesterday - 19,116
There are currently 19,304 people in hospital with COVID-19.
We have capacity for all key social care and NHS staff to be tested. We've opened 15 drive through testing centres. The first of our mega-labs opened yesterday in Milton Keynes.
Stress on PPE (personal protective equipment) means we have to treat PPE as the valuable resource it is. We are shifting tons of the stuff, but there is a massive global demand and high demand in the UK, and weekly delivery has meant we've had to create a whole new supply and logistics chain. He hinted that regular public don't need PPE, if we follow advice and stay behind our front door. 742m items of PPE have already been delivered where needed, and there's a 24hr hotline to report shortages or trouble receiving supply.
Chief Nursing Officer Ruth May spoke about staying home over Easter - please. She's a nurse, she doesn't want her colleagues to have to go through any more than they already will do. They don't get a weekend, they're working saving lives. The least you can do is stay home.
She announced two more NHS Nightingale Temporary hospitals in Sunderland and Exeter.
Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer went through the slides. New cases are mainly steady, the curve may be beginning to bend (maximum testing numbers mean we can't really get an entirely clear picture). Cases in the North West, and North East and Yorkshire are rising quite sharply.
The number of people in critical care beds is rising quite sharply in the North East and Yorkshire.
We are following Italy's trajectory right now.
Aside from all of the usual questions about "are we there yet?" (we still can't answer yet, continue to wait until the end of next week for a better idea), press asked why people are allowed to fly in and land in the UK without any checks., and about face masks, which are becoming more popular worldwide, including in parts of Europe.
Matt Hancock replied that for both points "we follow the science". Prof. Van-Tam reasserted that there isn't enough evidence to suggest masks make a significant difference to general members of the public. (We have shortages, we simply will struggle to get them for everyone who does need one, that's clear. Stay home and you won't need PPE).
Hospitals are facing unprecedented demand for oxygen and there have been a couple of problems, but in no case has anyone been unable to receive oxygen they need. Spare capacity is increasing more quickly than demand.
We are reminded yet again to GO TO HOSPITAL if you are incredibly ill. Don't be so scared of coronavirus that you put yourself in danger of dying from something else. Staff are there throughout hospitals to treat everyone.
There was a question about the bad influence we are being shown by MP's, senior medical staff and members of the coronavirus committees being spotted on holiday, visiting people, asking for restrictions to be lifted etc. The BBC kindly suddenly cut at that point, before Matt Hancock could answer, so insert the answer you'd give here - {_____£$%£^______^*&$&*___^£%"}
Disappointing BBC, very disappointing.
The Republic Of Ireland's lockdown has been extended until 5th May.
Things are bad, but they are expected to get much worse next week, as we approach our peak. All of the people infected within the last 3 weeks who are going to become seriously ill, will need hospital. It's going to be horrible. Stay home when you can, watch TV, eat all the junk food you want and remember you are actively saving lives by doing so.
Germany’s army is donating 60 mobile ventilators to the UK asap, following a call for help. The embassy tweeted:
"Support for our friends in the UK - the Bundeswehr is donating 60 mobile ventilators to the UK."
New York has begun digging mass graves at Hart Island for unclaimed victims of COVID-19. Since the Spanish Flu pandemic 100 years ago, around 1,300 burials a year, or 25 a week, have taken place on Hart Island. Since coronavirus took hold there have been 25 a day.
New York now have more cases of coronavirus than any country besides America, which obviously includes their total.
The NHS have published data on the ages of the first 8,114 confirmed UK victims of COVID-19 who died in hospital:
0-19 - 5
20-39 - 62
40-59 - 576
60-79 - 3,248
80+ - 4,223
91 South Korean patients thought to be clear of coronavirus have later tested positive again. Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the virus may have been "reactivated" rather than the patients being re-infected. It's also possible some tests could have been faulty. It's something to watch because we are obviously hopeful for immunity after recovery.
Yemen have confirmed their first case.
The Eurogroup have put forward a €500 billion support package to help protect jobs, currencies and business in the EU.
"We are building European solutions, in record time," said Eurogroup President Mario Centeno.
Don't let anyone tell you Easter Eggs aren't essential. Mental health is really important right now. If you've stayed home as much as possible then you've saved lives and deserve a treat.
The World Health Organisation are particularly concerned about how sub-saharan Africa will deal with COVID-19, as they have very poor health infrastructure and little capacity to cope with patients needing oxygen. As if COVID-19 wasn't enough, the Democratic Republic Of Congo have other worries:
"After 52 days without a case, surveillance and response teams on the ground have confirmed a new case of Ebola in DRC. We have been preparing for and expecting more cases"- Dr Tedros, head of WHO.
A reminder that now is NOT the time to pull out that cobweb-covered old power tool and start doing DIY. And no running with scissors.
Google have launched the Teach From Home temporary hub with tools, tips and resources to support teachers with remote teaching.
Sales of sex toys are on the rise.
Famous People With COVID-19:
Ex Leeds and England football player Norman Hunter.
Greggs bakery has secured £150m from the Treasury and the Bank of England’s emergency coronavirus fund - so the vegan sausage rolls (and 24,500 furloughed staff) are for now at least safe.
South Africa are extending their lockdown until the end of April.
Researchers in Australia have begun a clinical trial to determine whether BCG vaccine (against Tuberculosis), can protect healthcare workers from the new coronavirus. As I reported on 24th when the Netherlands started a similar trial, BCG can give the immune system a bump start. Strongest initially, a study by Rosemary Weir discovered that boost can last 14 years in children.
MP Jack Lopresti doesn't seem to get it. He's written to a bunch of people asking for churches to be opened on Sunday for private prayer. He doesn't realise COVID-19 can live on surfaces for several days, or that sitting in chairs someone else has sneezed or rubbed their hands on can be a risk factor. Medina, Mecca and Bethlehem are shut, religious buildings including those of the Catholic Church and the Church of England decided to shut before they were asked to. They used their brains, he isn't. He should know better.
MP's are being offered £10k to set themselves up to work from home. That's nice for them. Actually it could be handy because it seems at least one of them doesn't have access to the Google (see above).
Widowed Mum Razia Begum rode a scooter 869 miles to go and fetch one of her two sons, after the 17 year old was stuck alone in another state due to the sudden Indian lockdown. She was given a letter by her local police as permission to travel and packed rotis to keep her going.
We'll all be crying watching the Netflix movie of this in 3 years time.
Turkish aid arriving in the UK has this message:
"After hopelessness, there is so much hope and after darkness there is much brighter sun." Rumi.
A Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi movement has called a ceasefire, and said it will halt military operations for two weeks, due to coronavirus and in support of United Nations efforts to end the 5 years of conflict.
If you have religion then this is a very important time for you. Around the entire Earth people of every faith are all praying for the same thing. The world is your religious space, and everyone is praying together.
Some people. They look like numbers, but they are people:
Countries / Cases / Losses of life (some states/provinces yet to report):
USA 488,903 (+20,337) 17,995 (+1,304)
New York 170,512 (+9,008) 7,844 (+777)
Spain 157,053 (+3,831) 15,970 (+523)
Italy 147,577 (+3,951) 18,849 (+570)
France 124,869 (+7,120) 13,197 (+987)
Germany 119,624 (+1,389) 2,607
China 81,907 (+42) 3,336 (+1)
UK 70,272 (+5,195) 8,958 (+980)
Iran 68,192 (+1,972) 4,232 (+122)
Turkey 47,029 (+4,747) 1,006 (+98)
Belgium 26,667 (+1,684) 3,019 (+496)
Switzerland 24,548 (+497) 1,001 (+53)
Netherlands 23,097 (+1,335) 2,511 (+115)
S. Korea 10,450 (+27) 208 (+4)
Israel 10,095 (+127) 95 (+9)
Sweden 9,685 (+544) 870 (+77)
India 7,347 (+622) 229 (+2)
Ecuador 7,161 (+2,196) 297 (+25)
Belarus 1,981 (+495) 19 (+3)
Moldova 1,438 (+149) 29
Morocco 1,431 (+57) 105 (+8)
New Zealand 1,283 (+44) 2 (+1)
Bangladesh 424 (+94) 27 (+6)
DRC 215 (+35) 20 (+2)
Isle of Man 201 (+11) 1
Sources:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200409_45/
BCG effectivity over time
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18221509/
https://teachfromhome.google/intl/en/
https://twitter.com/GermanEmbassy/status/1248284097170092032?s=19
https://twitter.com/JackLopresti/status/1247894726486798342?s=19
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/greggs-gets-150m-keep-afloat-18071223.amp
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/10/us/new-york-hart-island-burials/index.html
https://reut.rs/2Rs36hY
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/eurogroup/2020/04/07-09/
https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN21R1HP
https://twitter.com/BiIndia/status/1248506464878002176?s=19
https://twitter.com/PresidencyZA/status/1248316856076812294?s=19
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1248639689998942215
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/south-korea-reports-91-recovered-21847011
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