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Britain announced 473 more hospital coronavirus deaths today, bringing the UK’s official death toll to 26,570.
NHS England declared 391 victims of COVID-19, while Scotland recorded 60 and Wales recorded 22. Northern Ireland has yet to announce.
The Health Department said the official count, which is expected to be even higher and include deaths that occurred outside of hospitals, will be released later this afternoon.
Amid fears that thousands of victims were missing, the ministers gave in to mounting pressure to include COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes in the daily update.
Officials yesterday, the first day of the new recording scheme, added an additional 3,811 deaths to the account. The revised count saw Britain jump to third place on the COVID-19 global death chart, and it meant Britain’s number of daily deaths exceeded 1,000 nine times in April.
But top statisticians argued that the count was still too short because only Britons who tested positive for the virus were included. A leading expert claimed that the true number would be more than 30,000.
In other developments to the coronavirus crisis today:
- Boris Johnson is slated to indicate that the blockade will last until June as he meets the Cabinet to launch an ‘exit strategy’;
- A report warned that London’s transport network could be paralyzed when the UK eases the blockade measures after Transport for London laid off 7,000 employees;
- Ministers have admitted that the government “probably” will not meet Matt Hancock’s goal of conducting 100,000 tests a day, which he was expected to achieve tomorrow;
- A survey found that two-thirds of the public believe the government acted too late in imposing the blockade;
- New questions have been raised about the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) amid claims that it has been influenced by politicians and senior officials;
- NHS fundraising hero Tom Moore was promoted to colonel and honored with an RAF air flight to commemorate his centennial;
- Top surgeons have warned that thousands of people will die from COVID-19 if Britain’s strict closure is lifted at this stage.
Slow traffic increase: At 8 am today, traffic increased on the same day last week, but decreased yesterday. Congestion was 50% below average today, almost as high as the busiest Monday day of closing so far, when it was 49% below average. That was a 2% increase in the past week.
London: Apple’s mobility data for London also shows a similar picture. Driving has increased 2% this week and hiking increased 8% on weekends during sunny weather but plummeted when rain fell on Monday
NHS England revealed today that the total number of hospital deaths across England had passed another milestone and reached 20,137.
Health Department figures show that the true death count in England is 23,550, meaning that at least 3,413 deaths occurred outside of hospitals.
A 15-year-old boy was among the new 391 victims. Authorities said they had an underlying health condition, but it was unclear what it was about.
Of the deaths announced today, 140 occurred on Tuesday, April 28, and the rest spanned the seven weeks between March 12 and yesterday. April 8 remains the peak of the outbreak, with the death of 863 people.
Wales recorded 22 more deaths today, bringing its total death toll to 908. Scotland announced another 60 victims with its fatality count now at 1,475. Northern Ireland has yet to declare its number today, but its official count yesterday was 338.
The number of people dying in hospitals across the UK appears to be declining and the Government is under increasing pressure to reveal how it plans to pull Britain out of its current blockade.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to speak on the matter later this afternoon and tell the British that he will do nothing that could risk increasing the rate of reproduction of the virus, R0, and allowing it to spread faster than one to one proportion.
Having chaired the Cabinet this morning, the Prime Minister is expected to wipe out hopes of an imminent end to the draconian restrictions that paralyze the economy, emphasizing that allowing the deadly disease to run rampant again would cause even worse damage.
Johnson will put the ‘R’ number, the rate of reproduction of the virus, at the center of the battle, saying that he will not take measures that allow him to rise above one, which means it is growing.
Government sources have indicated that it will also challenge calls to treat the public as “adults” by explaining ways in which the blockade could be eased, saying it is “too soon.”
But Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, at a briefing in Edinburgh today, said he believed it would be “too early” when the formal review takes place next week to lift the restrictions “significantly.”
“The margins we have to make sure the virus doesn’t take off again are really very tight,” he said.
Ms Sturgeon expressed alarm that people were already starting to ignore social distancing rules: developer traffic increased by 10 percent last week in parts of Scotland.
Despite the hard line in public, frantic behind-the-scenes work has been done to develop an ‘exit plan’. Island communities with controllable transport links will be used to test ways to loosen restrictions and increase community testing. The Isle of Wight will be among the first pilot sites.
However, officials have been largely downplaying claims that regions like Cornwall could be targeted.
Johnson’s appearance at tonight’s press conference will be the first since he took office in Downing Street on Monday, and will come less than 36 hours after his fiancé Carrie Symonds gave birth to his son. The prime minister has delayed his paternity leave until later in the year as the country struggles to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
His return comes as the Health Department appears to have missed Matt Hancock’s goal of conducting 100,000 coronavirus tests per day by the end of this month.
On Tuesday, April 28, the most recent day for which data is available, 52,429 tests were performed, just half the target.
Masked passengers are seen crowding onto a platform at Canning Town underground station in London this morning
Of the number made Tuesday, some 28,539 were made at dozens of transit centers across the country.
The daily capacity available now is around 77,000, but even if ministers can increase that number to 100,000 by tomorrow, it seems incredibly unlikely that they could almost double the number of tests being administered.
Attorney General Robert Buckland admitted this morning that the target is “probably” going to be missed, as he blamed the fact that the government started from a “low base” in terms of evidence capacity.
Experts criticized the target as a “red herring” that has hampered response to the outbreak.
NHS providers, who represent health care trusts, launched a scathing attack on Hancock’s handling of the situation, saying the push to reach the number has been a ‘distraction’ and led to a chaotic expansion of the regime.
Chris Hopson, executive director of NHS Providers, said members are increasingly frustrated with the lack of clarity on how the testing regimen will unfold for the next phase.
The Government has insisted that blocking measures cannot be facilitated unless their five criteria are met, including manageable infection rates and testing capacity.
Hopson said: ‘Testing is an area where, despite all the work done by the trusts and the NHS, the health and care system as a whole has struggled to develop an effective and coordinated approach.
“As we consider the route out of the blockade, what trusted leaders need now is clarity on the evidence regime from now on.
‘Setting a target for a series of tests by April 30 may have had a galvanizing effect. But what matters most is an updated strategy that takes us through the exit of the blockade. ”
Details and a timeline of an exit strategy is now the number one lawsuit Downing Street faces.
Attorney General Robert Buckland said in interviews this morning that the mood among the ministers was “extreme caution.”
He said: ‘I think the common thread between governments is one of extreme caution after the evidence from the Sage committee, making sure we don’t do anything prematurely that could risk a second spike. That would be a disaster. ‘
He told the BBC Radio 4 Today program: “ I think that, within the government, a lot of work is already being done on what the future will be like; I think it would be a breach of duty if we did not do that.
‘Certainly in my department, I am looking to the medium-term future as to what summer and autumn will be like in the prison and judicial system. We have to start that work, in fact the work is already underway.
“That, of course, does not mean that we are suddenly going into a new phase: we must be absolutely sure that the five tests that were carried out a few weeks ago will be met, and in particular the need to prevent the second or even The third peak of the disease is clear to me, both in terms of health and the well-being of the economy. ”
A No10 source said of Mr. Johnson’s message: “It will be in the area of how we meet our five tests to get out of the lockdown, the main one of which is making sure we don’t risk another exponential increase in infections.”
“It is still too early to establish details on what the blockade reduction could be like.”
Data released yesterday showed that Britain has one of the worst coronavirus mortality rates in the world, better only than Spain and Belgium per capita.
Revised UK figures, including deaths outside hospitals, showed that there were nine days when the number of deaths exceeded 1,000, ranging from April 7 to April 24.
Johnson chaired the daily morning coronavirus meeting, followed by meetings of his political cabinet and his entire cabinet, the prime minister’s official spokesman said.
Medical director Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance updated ministers on the response to the coronavirus thus far and the progress made to stem the spread of the disease.
Then the secretaries of state updated their colleagues on the work their departments are doing.
The prime minister gave another sign that there is little chance that he will relax before June.
He said at a Westminster briefing: “I think we will have to wait for the review to take place and I do not think it is wise to move that forward.”
“ What you have obviously heard from Chris Whitty is that this is a disease that will exist for a significant period of time – he has said that we have to be realistic, we are going to have to do a lot of things for a long period of time.
The spokesperson added: “We are not ahead of the review, but, as the prime minister has said, the worst thing we could do is relax the measures of social distancing too soon and discard all the progress that has been achieved thanks to the hard work and sacrifice from the British public. “
Dominic Raab pointed out the dangers of premature relaxation, noting that Germany, while lavishly containing the virus, has now seen an increase in transmission since its opening.
“Chancellor Merkel has made it clear that they may need a second shutdown in Germany if the infection rate continues to rise,” the foreign secretary said at the Downing Street briefing.
Despite the harsh public messages, there is evidence of a broader move to jump-start more of the economy.
DIY stores, fast food chains, coffee shops and garden centers have been expanding their activities, and ministers have also told councils to reopen garbage.
Ministers are working on a series of guides in the workplace detailing what they might look like once the blockade is alleviated.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma has asked officials to provide advice on how a gradual return to work could be safely managed for seven different types of workplaces, including offices, factories and construction sites.
Businesses will be asked to close canteens and other communal spaces, as well as operate new shift patterns to allow for social distancing and limit pressure on public transportation during rush hour.
Office staff are likely to be encouraged to continue working from home whenever possible.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam said a partial reopening of the schools was “in the mix” but that it was “premature” to expect early action given the difficulty of social distancing in them.
A Whitehall source said the quarterly review of the blocking measures, which expires on May 7, would involve only modest changes at best.
“We are looking at whether we can undo the top button and make things more comfortable in one or two places for the economy,” added the source. “But any idea of a general uprising is just wrong.”
British roads are becoming noticeably more crowded, raising fears that the country will break free of the blockade against the government council. The photo is A102 in Greenwich, South East London, this morning.
The government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies will release new evidence to ministers in the coming days, but lifting of many of the restrictions is expected to immediately lead to an increase in the infection rate.
A government source said Johnson will be “very clear that we will not do anything that could risk [this]… because then you are back with the virus spreading exponentially and the risk of a second crash. ‘
In further pressure on the prime minister to be cautious, top surgeons have warned that thousands of people will die from Covid-19 if the blockade is lifted at this stage.
The Royal College of Surgeons said the NHS should not be used as a “punching bag” to avoid damaging the economy.
The RCS said the blockade cannot be loosened at this stage because not enough health care personnel are being tested and there is not enough PPE available for front-line doctors.
Professor Neil Mortensen, RCS President-elect, told the Daily Telegraph: “Just because the NHS has not been overwhelmed thus far, does not mean that the government can use the health service as its economic punching bag.”
“It was very close, and to use Boris Johnson’s own words” we have started to fight the ground, “but the virus has not yet been defeated.”
At last night’s press conference No. 10, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab noted a reported increase in virus cases in Germany, which has facilitated its closure.
He said a similar rebound in the UK “is a very real risk.”
Traffic levels have dropped across the country, but the roads were still relatively busy in West London this morning.
