[ad_1]
The UK is seeing a downward trend in the number of people in the hospital with coronavirus, but it is “too early” to say whether the country is winning the fight, says a health chief.
Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said the most marked decreases in Covid-19 hospitalizations have been in London and the Midlands.
He credited the British for obeying social closure and distancing measures for the apparent decline in new cases and a plateau in deaths.
However, Professor Powis said the blockade “has begun to pay off,” but warned that the cases could skyrocket and there could be a second wave if the British begin to be complacent.
Has the coronavirus affected you? Email [email protected].
(Image: PA)
read more
Related Posts
Speaking at Sunday’s briefing on Downing Street, he told reporters that the benefit of social distancing was beginning to be felt in stabilizing the number of new cases.
He said: “You can see that we now have a very definite trend of a small number of people in hospitals, which is more pronounced in London.
“But there is the beginning of that in the Midlands and other areas of the UK.
“That definitely shows that our compliance with social distancing is proving beneficial, reducing the transmission and spread of the virus.”
Professor Powis noted that there was a decrease in the number of critical care beds used for Covid-19 patients.
He added: “Those benefits have been produced not by luck, but because people have followed the instructions that everyone has given us and have followed science.
“The science of this is pretty straightforward, if we reduce the number of people who can be infected by an individual person who has the virus below average, then the virus begins to decrease and the number of infections begins to decrease. Fall.”
The NHS chief said the closure efforts “have begun to pay off,” but warned that they will only continue to pay off if the British continue to comply with social distancing measures.
He added: “My fear, like the fear of all of us, is that those curves will not continue in a downward trend, but will begin to go in an upward trend.
“We are not at a point where neither of us can be absolutely sure that this will not be the case: we want to avoid a second peak, we want to avoid an increase.”
“I cannot stress enough that this is not the time to say that we have done a good job.”
Speaking with Professor Powis, Environment Secretary George Eustice said 669,850 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the UK, including 29,058 on Saturday.
He said in a briefing on Downing Street that some 152,840 people tested positive, an increase of 4,463 cases from the previous day.
He added: “15,953 people are currently in the hospital with coronavirus in the UK, up from 16,411 on April 25.
“And unfortunately, of those hospitalized with the virus, 20,732 have died, and that is an increase of 413 deaths since yesterday.
“We express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of these victims.”
(Image: Reuters)
When asked why the government did not record coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes in the same way it did with hospitals, Professor Powis said there was a “difference” in the way the data is collected. .
He said, “At the NHS we work with several hundred hospitals to collect that information on a daily basis.
“We are collecting data from people who died in the hospital and who we know tested positive.
“All those organizations are within the NHS family that are used to submitting daily reports to the NHS England.”
Blocking the coronavirus is a worrying time for millions of people across the UK.
But it is also bringing out the best in people who selflessly dedicate their time each day to helping those most in need.
Our Mirror Coronavirus Heroes series wants to recognize all those who help the most vulnerable during the crisis.
Whether it’s a local business that goes the extra mile for the community or a teenager helping an elderly neighbor, we want to know.
You can email your Mirror Coronavirus Heroes stories to [email protected].
“In the nursing home sector, there are many, thousands of nursing homes operated by many, many independent organizations, so that kind of daily reporting rhythm is not something that happens in nursing homes. way”.
Schools will have to adhere to social distancing measures if they reopen during the pandemic, the environment secretary said.
Eustice added: “Dominic Raab addressed this earlier this morning. He emphasized the importance that, even when he begins to consider steps like that (reopening of schools), it would still be important in that environment to have measures of social distancing.”
When asked about tests for residents and care home staff, he said, “We have been increasing the ability to do those tests.
(Image: Getty Images)
Video not available
“It is currently at over 50,000 per day. We have started inviting large numbers of people working in the care sector and care homes to do those tests and a significant number have done so.”
Eustice dismissed media reports that all travelers returning to the UK from abroad must be quarantined on arrival for 14 days as “speculation”.
He said: “As we move into a new phase sometime in the future, we are not there yet, international travel could become a bigger part of managing risk.
“Right now, all the evidence suggests that it is only a small proportion of the cause of the coronavirus outbreak. If we got to that point, a number of measures would be considered, but no decisions have yet been made at this stage.”
Eustice added: “As a country, we have made a conscious decision not to close
our borders because we need to keep the flow of trade and there should be
advice in the future as we move to new stages this is an area that should
to be looked at and considered, now is the time to do that. “
Professor Powis repeated his request to motorists not to violate the blocking rules after the data showed that traffic levels increased by 3% compared to last week.
“We need to make sure that this does not mean that we will not continue to comply with the government’s instructions on social distancing, which of course are so key to making sure we are on top and controlling the spread of this virus,” he said.
He added that mobility data from tech giant Apple also showed “a small indication that more people are walking and driving” as more people requested directions online.
[ad_2]
