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The virus blockade will run until May after the number of daily deaths increased to almost 1,000.
Rishi Sunak confirmed last night that a planned review of the emergency measures will take place next week. But, in a clear sign that the restrictions will continue, the chancellor said: “The priority is to stop the spread of the virus, and the best way to do it is to stay at home.”
A government source said there was “no chance” that the shutdown would be reduced next week. Another said: ‘Look at the death toll. That raises the question of whether we will lift the restrictions in context.
Some ministers expected an extension of no more than two weeks from the initial end date of April 16. But a three-week minimum is much more likely, and other experts predict the end of the restrictions beyond May.
Armed police pass a boarded-up pub in London on Wednesday as coronavirus closure continues in Britain
Rishi Sunak confirmed last night that a planned review of the emergency measures will take place next week.
There was growing concern last night about the economic impact of the coronavirus when the World Trade Organization warned of the “deepest recession in our lives.”
The British Chambers of Commerce warned that termination staff could cost taxpayers £ 50 billion in the next three months.
As Boris Johnson was heading to a third night in intensive care:
- Downing Street said his condition was improving and that he was sitting up in bed and “interacting positively” with doctors;
- The total death toll reached 7,097, with 5,491 new cases, the highest number over three days;
- Sunak announced a £ 750 million bailout for struggling charities;
- The Alzheimer’s Society warned that dementia sufferers were being ‘abandoned to coronaviruses’ in nursing homes;
- The ministers launched a study on the impact of the blockade on health, covering topics such as canceled operations, mental health and economic anguish;
- Only 2,500 government-backed business loans have been approved, despite 300,000 inquiries;
- Doctors warned of “collateral damage” amid fears that patients will avoid seeking help for cancer, stroke, and sepsis;
- Veterinarians cautioned that cats should be kept indoors if their owners have the virus;
- The National Trust made the “sad” decision to urge people to stay home for Easter and not visit their properties;
- The government is considering 12 other NHS Nightingale hospital sites;
- Only 14,000 virus tests were performed on Monday;
- Devon and Cornwall police warned tourists and secondary homeowners would be fined and sent home if they tried to visit this Easter.
A police officer talks to a gentleman who is enjoying the nice sun on a beach in Brighton this week.
There may be a delay of more than three weeks between someone becoming infected with the coronavirus and dying. It takes days, if not weeks, for symptoms to be life-threatening. Death must be recorded and reported, and the family notified, in a process that takes days.
The number of patients in intensive care with coronavirus has stabilized in the past week, in a sign that the outbreak is slowing down.
The charts show how the UK death toll from coronaviruses compares to counts in other nations, including Italy
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is running for prime minister, will hold an emergency Cobra committee meeting today to discuss the shutdown.
Sunak said a decision would not be made across the UK until next week when the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies reports. He also admitted that there would be financial difficulties ahead.
Professor Stephen Powis of NHS England said the closure was working. But he added: “We have to follow the instructions, we have to follow the social distancing; if we don’t, the virus will start to spread again.”
Polls from King’s College London and Ipsos Mori showed that nine out of ten people support the closure.
Sung-Il Cho, a professor of epidemiology at Seoul National University, told The Daily Telegraph that cases should drop below 50 per fortnight before moving towards a “gradual recovery.”
Newspaper models found that for the UK that would mean waiting until the middle of next month.
South Koreans have been able to put the virus in place through a strict testing regime, contact tracing and quarantine. They have recorded just 200 deaths without imposing a blockade and are registering 53 new cases every day.
Professor Chis Whitty, the medical director, echoed Mr. Sunak, saying that an exit strategy would not be discussed until “we are sure we are beyond the peak.”
However, experts have warned that coming back to life after closing will not be a return to normal. Many anticipate that there will be a vicious resurgence of the disease in the fall.
Professor David Alexander of the University College London Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction told The Telegraph: ‘Britain and other countries should be ready to return to closure, possibly under tighter conditions than before. In the fall, a second wave of Covid-19 could occur and it could be devastating. ”
Another option is to allow the young and healthy to return to work, while others continue to follow the strict “stay home” guide.
But most scientists believe the government will opt for the strategy of reducing the number of cases to a small level before proceeding with any release of the population.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is replacing Boris Johnson, saying it is too early to consider ending the UK blockade and that the country must keep its foot on the pedal.
And even if that were accomplished, life would not suddenly resume as it did before the draconian measures were imposed on us. Dr Joe Grove, from UCL’s Department of Infection and Immunity, told The Telegraph: ‘Once the current epidemic peak has passed, the simple return to life as usual will likely trigger another epidemic.
‘Ultimately, the only way we can get rid of the shackles of Covid-19 is general immunity, and the only sure way to achieve this is through vaccination. Meanwhile, the tests give us a route to a certain appearance of normality.
Downing Street, meanwhile, has voiced grave fears that people will challenge its regulations to get out and enjoy the festive sun on Easter Monday.
The government will formally establish its extension early next week after processing the three-week figures.
Opinion polls show the public still supports the blockade after the coronavirus claimed a record 938 deaths on Wednesday.
The WHO also agreed with the government’s position yesterday, warned Dr. Hans Kluge: “Now is not the time to relax the measures.”
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, chaired by Sir Patrick Vallance, will meet tomorrow to discuss how current regulations on public freedoms have affected infection and death rates.
Italy, which has recorded the highest number of deaths in the world, extended its blockade (which started on March 9) until mid-May. Officials have often reminded us that we are two weeks behind the Italians.
The highest number of daily deaths in Britain on Wednesday (938) compares to Italy’s highest of 919 on March 28 (12 days ago), and Spain’s 950 deaths on April 3.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak warns that ministers “CANNOT save all UK jobs,” as the World Trade Organization says the coronavirus will cause the worst global recession in our lives.
By Darren Boyle
Foreign Minister Rishi Sunak warned today that some job losses caused by the coronavirus crisis will be permanent.
Sunak, addressing the daily Downing Street press conference, warned the public that the blockade would likely continue further.
He said: ‘I have been very clear and very honest that this will have a significant impact on our economy.
“Despite what are unprecedented measures in scale and scope, I cannot stay here and say that I can save every job, protect every business, or even every charity. That simply is not possible.
Foreign Minister Rishi Sunak warned that he could not save all the jobs threatened by Covid-19
Earlier, the World Trade Organization warned that the global pandemic is likely to cause the “deepest economic recession in our lives,” and that international trade will drop by as much as a third during 2020.
Pressed on the closure, Mr. Sunak said: ‘There will be a Cobra meeting tomorrow chaired by the First Secretary of State (Dominic Raab), which will involve delegated administrations to discuss the focus of the review.
“ We promised that there would be a review in and around three weeks, that review will be based on the evidence and data provided by Sage, which will only be available next week.
Piccadilly Circus was practically abandoned tonight as the British continue to shutdown
“But I think rather than speculating about the future, I think we should really focus on the here and now and the present.”
Sunak said the priority is to stop the spread of the virus and insisted that people should follow the advice to stay home.
Faced with the prospect of different parts of the country coming out of the closure at different times, Mr. Sunak said, “I don’t want to start speculating about the future.”
“We are out of the running, but we sneeze and they reject you”: the British who lives in Wuhan reveals how the joy of freedom after 76 days is contaminated by China’s draconian security measures on the streets
When the closure is finally lifted in Wuhan, a 32-year-old British expat who has been working in the city for several years sends this vivid shipment on the realities of freedom.
At midnight on Tuesday, I was awakened by shouts and cheers of ‘Come on Wuhan’ when my neighbors in this city of 11 million that spawned the coronavirus pandemic celebrated the formal end of the quarantine after 77 long and frustrating days.
For a week, I was allowed to leave my complex with specific errands for up to two hours, but yesterday was the first day that I could come and go whenever I wanted.
Stores are reopening, so I can buy razors and shave well. Reusing the same shaver for almost three months has been a nightmare. I can finally cut my hair too.
The 32-year-old British expatriate said: “Freedom after so long is welcome but distressing.” Pictured: Workers in facial masks barbecue at a market in Wuhan.
And some restaurants have resumed service.
The first thing I did was go to my favorite noodle restaurant for their beef special which is so delicious that I ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner the same day.
The local Starbucks is busy and a nearby bar has just received its first beer delivery in over two months. Before the virus came, life in China had to do with convenience. If you want a toothbrush delivered to you at 4 a.m. then you could do it.
But under lockdown we would wait three days for a community delivery of specific products: fresh vegetables, meat, mainly pork, rice and flour.
If you fancy something different, hard. I left early yesterday morning and was surprised by the number of people and cars on the streets.
But it was rush hour and crowds indicated a widespread return to work.
Obstacles on the roads leading into and out of the city have also been removed.
The city, which is the capital of Hubei, is being brought back to life, a province that has suffered 67,803 Covid-19 cases and 3,213 deaths, according to official figures.
Citizens can now travel between cities again and the local airport is back in business.
There were no less than 200 flights scheduled to depart Wuhan yesterday, with 10,000 passengers.
Tens of thousands more left on 100 high-speed trains. Kindergartens, schools and universities remain closed depending on a Beijing decision on when they can reopen, but it surely won’t take long.
Yes, normalcy is returning but darker nuances persist. Freedom after so long is welcome but it makes you nervous.
Every few days, security guards come knocking on my door, it can happen early in the morning or late at night, and three people with protective clothing, visors and masks will come and take a look at my apartment and check for signs of fever with a ‘thermometer gun’.
Another person records the procedure on a mobile phone.
On the streets it’s the same story: Security guards armed with thermometer ‘pistols’ for random checks maintain a high-profile presence, as trucks roam the streets spraying disinfectant.
And many people continue to wear face masks. There is still tension and caution here.
Cough or sneeze on the street and people will cross the street to avoid it. Anyone who looks sick is treated like a leper.
For western eyes, mass surveillance and monitoring is draconian.
Each citizen is assigned a unique QR code, through the WeChat application, which serves as proof that they are healthy.
The QR code is linked to an individual’s government ID card and includes details from a blood test and health exam that show they are virus free.
No one can leave a closed community, use public transportation or visit shopping malls or buy food without having scanned their code.
Foreigners like me are not entitled to a QR code. I carry a letter from my doctor attesting to my virus-free status and show it along with my ID card.
The city, which is the capital of Hubei, is being brought back to life, a province that has suffered 67,803 Covid-19 cases and 3,213 deaths, according to official figures. Pictured: Passengers wait to enter the railway station after the closure in Wuhan, China
This is the reality that the blockade has replaced now. To be reviewed and revised again.
Will it be enough to stop a second wave of infections? I hope so.
Wuhan is paying a high economic price for the blockade.
The seafood market identified as the most likely source of this new coronavirus outbreak strain remains sealed with blue police tape, and is heavily patrolled by officials.
Walk down any street and you will see shops that have been abandoned because retailers can no longer pay the rent.
Clothing stores, specialty restaurants, and even some banks are still closed and garbage piles up outside.
It is no wonder that many of the people who came to Wuhan from the field to find work left at the first opportunity yesterday. But people are coming back.
The Wuhan quarantine was launched during the Spring Festival, as the Chinese New Year celebration is known, a time when many people had left the city to visit the family in their home villages.
From my window I see young couples laden with luggage returning to homes they have not lived in since January.
And this leads me to a problem that many here would prefer to remain hidden.
Some of those who left Wuhan to celebrate the start of the Year of the Rat elsewhere, left their cats, dogs, and other pets with enough food and water for a few days.
After all, they would be back very soon …
“New cases are NOT accelerating out of control … and that’s good news”: Official charts show the UK coronavirus curve is flattening, despite the grim record of 938 new deaths, more than the worst daily count in Italy, which is going to 7,097
By Sam Blanchard
“New cases are NOT accelerating out of control … and that’s good news”: Official charts show the UK coronavirus curve is flattening, despite the grim record of 938 new deaths, more than the worst daily count in Italy, which is going to 7,097
The UK coronavirus outbreak is slowing, government experts say, despite the death toll rising by a record 938, beating Italy’s worst day (919) during the COVID-19 crisis.
Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser to Number 10, Professor Angela McLean, assured the British that the outbreak was not “out of control”, pointing to figures showing the slowdown in hospital admissions and cases and calling it “good news”.
The numbers suggest that the shutdown is working, and the drop in hospital admissions from the virus is expected to reduce the number of deaths in the next two weeks.
However, today’s record death toll is expected to repeat or even exceed in the coming days as the spike in the virus hits Britain.
The number of Britons who died in the hospital after testing positive for the deadly disease now stands at 7,097, more than double that of China, where the pandemic began in December.
Health Department data shows that the number of cases increased by 5,491 today, meaning that at least 60,733 Britons have been infected since the outbreak began to spread among humans on UK soil in February.
But the big jump is largely due to yesterday’s government that tested about 3,000 more people than it usually does, cleaning up nearly 13,000 suspected killer virus patients compared to 9,740 the day before.
Today’s surge in deaths saw Britain overcome Italy’s deadliest day on March 27, when officials in Rome recorded 919 new deaths among hospitalized patients. Spain recorded 950 deaths in the hospital on April 2. But the numbers are low for the United States, which is being affected by the virus with more than 400,000 cases. Yesterday recorded 1,799 deaths.
However, the drop in hospital admissions and Professor McLean’s cautious optimism suggests there is light at the end of the tunnel for Britain, and the effects of the closure on death tolls are expected to be seen after next week.
As the NHS and government struggle to maintain control over the outbreak, the affected prime minister, Boris Johnson, remains in an intensive care unit at a central London hospital, where his spokesman says he is in stable condition and “responding to treatment”. The prime minister was admitted Monday night after suffering a fever for 10 days.
Attention has now turned to Johnson’s vote to assess the progress of the UK shutdown next week, which he appears to be unable to do. Downing Street says it will delay the evaluation, and there are no signs that the stay-at-home measures will be lifted soon. London Mayor Sadiq Khan says the UK “is not close” to the end.
Dr. Hans Kluge, director of the World Health Organization for Europe, echoed this sentiment and said that it would be “dangerous” to try to relax the rules too soon. Wuhan, the Chinese city where the pandemic began, has only recently begun allowing its citizens to travel again, 73 days after the preemptive blockade was imposed in January.
NHS England confirmed today that 828 more people have died in their hospitals, with patients between the ages of 22 and 103 and of whom 42 had been healthy. The other 110 deaths were recorded in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Italy released official death figures of 919 for March 27, but on the same day, one region revealed that it had lost 50 deaths.
These additional 50 deaths were added to the daily total by most media outlets around the world, including MailOnline, BBC, CNN, and AFP, among many others.
However, Italy added the 50 ‘lost’ deaths to the figures from the previous day (March 26), making the official figure for March 27 (the highest in Italy) 919.
Speaking at today’s daily coronavirus briefing, Professor McLean said: ‘This new UK case count, day by day for the past few weeks, is not accelerating out of control.
“Yesterday, there were 5,492 new cases and the spread of the virus is not accelerating and that is good news.”
When the death figures for the four UK countries are combined, the total number of fatalities is 7,172.
Hoy se anunciaron las muertes de otras dos enfermeras del NHS: Alice Kit Tak Ong (izquierda) y Rebecca Mack (derecha)
Pero debido a que las estadísticas se registran de manera diferente en cada nación, los números anunciados por el Departamento de Salud cada día son más bajos.
Los expertos advierten que las personas deberían tomar los peajes diarios de muerte anunciados por los gobiernos como una guía en lugar de un número concreto para cada día.
Muchas de las muertes anunciadas cada tarde ocurrieron hace días o semanas, y muchas de las personas que realmente murieron en las últimas 24 horas no se contarán en los números durante los próximos días o semanas.
Esto significa que el recuento de muertes de cada día no representa la fecha en que se anuncia: incluye casi por completo las muertes que ocurrieron hace más de 24 horas, y todas las muertes que realmente ocurrieron ese día se anuncian oficialmente en dribs y drabs en el días y semanas que siguen.
El profesor Jim Naismith de la Universidad de Oxford dijo ayer: “Los métodos actuales de presentación de informes … se han vuelto inútiles y distractores al evaluar el progreso de la pandemia”.
‘Los cambios en los números que estamos viendo son agotadores emocionalmente; Espero un día y desespero al día siguiente.
Dijo que el número de nuevas pruebas positivas y hospitalizaciones era una imagen más precisa de la situación del día a día, porque no hay retraso de tiempo en ellas.
El personal médico está fotografiado practicando la carga y descarga de una camilla desde una ambulancia frente al Hospital NHS Nightingale en East London
Se diagnosticaron un total de 704 casos nuevos en Escocia, Gales e Irlanda del Norte en las últimas 24 horas.
En los últimos días han sido razones para estar alegres, con los 3.634 casos diagnosticados ayer, el más bajo en una semana. Durante los últimos siete días, el número se ha mantenido relativamente estable en alrededor de 4.000 por día.
Las estadísticas de hoy llegan cuando Downing Street confirmó que el Gobierno no considerará cuándo debería poner fin al cierre del Reino Unido el próximo lunes. Los funcionarios se comprometieron a revisar la situación cada tres semanas.
El próximo lunes se cumplirán tres semanas desde que el primer ministro Boris Johnson instó a todo el país a quedarse en casa.
Downing Street simplemente dijo que habrá una revisión ‘en o alrededor’ de la marca de tres semanas, con la ley que requiere una extensión técnica para el 16 de abril.
Una mujer fue fotografiada pegando un dibujo de un arcoíris a la ventana de 10 Downing Street hoy, con la leyenda ‘Estamos juntos en esto’. Imágenes similares han aparecido en hogares de todo el país para rendir homenaje al NHS
El principal asesor científico del Gobierno, Sir Patrick Vallance, dijo anoche que las estadísticas oficiales estaban comenzando a mostrar “el comienzo del cambio” para Gran Bretaña, pero aún pasaría al menos una semana hasta que emergiera una imagen clara de la epidemia.
Raab enfatizó en la sesión informativa diaria de Downing Street anoche que las autoridades no podían considerar aliviar las restricciones de cierre hasta que estuviera claro que el pico de la epidemia había pasado y se podía “hacer responsablemente”.
Sin embargo, la legislación de emergencia presentada ante el Parlamento tres días después del anuncio del primer ministro establece que se debe realizar una revisión cada 21 días, con el primer plazo el 16 de abril.
Pressed on when the review will happen, health minister Edward Argar told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘When the scientific advice is such that we appear to have gone over the peak and it is safe to do so.’
London Mayor Sadiq Khan warned that an easing of the restrictions could be a long way off. ‘I think we are nowhere near lifting the lockdown,’ he told the BBC.
‘We think the peak, which is the worst part of the virus, is still probably a week and a half away.’
WHO regional director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, said in an update that relaxing lockdown too early would be ‘dangerous’.
‘We still have a long way to go in the marathon and the progress we have made so far in fighting the virus is extremely fragile,’ he said.
‘To think we are coming close to an end point would be a dangerous thing to do. The virus leaves no room for error or complacency.
‘Any shift in our response strategy, relaxing of lockdown status or physical distancing measures requires very careful consideration.’
But a minister told the Times that reopening schools should be one of the first moves in easing then lockdown.
Experts have said the closures are likely only to have a limited effect on the spread, and mean much of the workforce are tied up with childcare.
‘We need to be led by the science, of course,’ the minister said.
‘But if we can reopen schools after the Easter holidays things could begin to get back to normal. It could kick-start the economy.’
While the country is anxious to know when the tough new living restrictions will start to be relaxed, it is only today that Wuhan, the Chinese city home to the livestock market where the entire global pandemic began, has allowed its citizens to travel again.
The railways and airport reopened and people are no longer on effective city-wide house arrest. The city had been under total lockdown for a total of 73 days since mid-January when officials realised the disease outbreak was out of control.
The rest of China quickly followed suit and now most of Europe is enduring similar conditions after global travel during the Chinese crisis spread the virus to almost every country on Earth.
At the height of the city’s epidemic Wuhan, a city of 11million residents, saw citizens forced into their homes by authorities and transport hubs and streets were deserted except for police patrols and emergency workers.
But restrictions in the city have dropped off in recent days as new infections significantly fell. For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, mainland China reported no COVID-19-related deaths on Tuesday.
Wuhan reported just two new infections in the past 14 days but Chinese authorities must now tread a very fine line between granting more freedom of movement to citizens, and guarding against a second wave of infections.
Tall barriers remain in place around housing compounds and people are only permitted to leave if they have a green health code or are carrying documents stipulating a valid reason.
In the UK last night there was cautious optimism from chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance,that the fight against COVID-19 ‘could be moving in the right direction’.
Sir Patrick said there were signs that the rates of new infections and new hospital admissions for COVID-19 were ‘flattening off’ and that reductions in these statistics would eventually lead to death rates falling in the coming weeks.
Britain’s Chief Scientific Adviser for the Ministry of Defence Angela McLean speaking during a remote press conference to update the nation on the COVID-19 pandemic
But he added it would be another ‘week or so’ before they could be sure, indicating lockdown measures would not be eased before then, and said day-to-day figures do not present an accurate picture of the situation.
Current death rates in Britain suggest someone is dying of COVID-19 roughly every two minutes and Birmingham is the local authority at the epicentre of the UK’s crisis.
Yesterday saw a further 786 deaths reported and statistics show the NHS trust with the most victims in England is University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB), followed by several trusts in London.
Although London is being hit harder by the disease, it is broken into more local councils and NHS boards than Birmingham is, spreading the pressure out over a greater area and number of staff.
As of yesterday, UHB had recorded 263 deaths, 37 of which were announced on Tuesday. Birmingham has also consistently had the most coronavirus cases throughout the outbreak in comparison to other local authorities.
Almost 1,400 of the UK’s total 55,242 cases have been in Birmingham, higher than any single borough in London or elsewhere in England. At the other end of the scale, Rutland has recorded just six cases.
Nationwide the number of people saying they have symptoms of the coronavirus is falling, according to scientists at King’s College London.
The researchers developed an app called COVID Symptom Tracker which has been downloaded by more than two million people. They self-reported data from people across the UK suggests lockdown could be working.
Calculations suggest that around 1.4million people are currently suffering from symptomatic coronavirus infection, down from around 1.9m on April 1. On March 26, three days after Boris Johnson introduced lockdown, the team predicted more than six million people could be ill or recovered.
The significantly lower estimate since then suggests that people staying at home, after the Prime Minister’s speech on March 23, is starting to slow the outbreak down.
But officials in all corners – including Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and the World Health Organization – have said it is too soon to even think about lifting the social distancing measures.
It will take at least another week for any effects of the lockdown to filter through to hospitals, Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, said yesterday.
The COVID Symptom Tracker app works by members of the public filling out forms which describe their health and ask about possible coronavirus symptoms.
Healthy people, those who think they might have COVID-19, and those who have been officially diagnosed are all encouraged to take part in it.
One of the app’s developers, Professor Tim Spector, said: ‘It is really encouraging to see that the rate of new symptoms being reported is beginning to fall.
‘Even though hospital admissions and deaths are still on the rise, we hope that these figures offer a much needed light at the end of the tunnel.
‘The altruism of the UK public combined with modern technology is allowing us to rapidly collect huge amounts of invaluable data to help us better understand this deadly virus.
‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank every single person who is already participating and would urge everyone else to download the app and check in every day, whether you are experiencing any symptoms or feeling fine.’
