Coronavirus: UK sees lowest daily death toll in two weeks

The UK has recorded its lowest daily death toll from coronavirus in two weeks, as its deputy chief scientific adviser said that its rate of infection has stopped rising.

Angela McLean said the UK’s Covid-19 infection rate was now flat. Her comments came as the number of people being treated for the virus in London hospitals fell for the seventh day running. A total of 16,509 people have died from the virus in the UK’s hospitals, an increase of 449 since Sunday.

Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak told a daily press conference in Downing Street that it was too soon to consider lifting the lockdown put in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the lockdown would not be lifted until the government could be sure this would not trigger a second peak in infections.

He defended the decision to allow major sporting events including the Cheltenham Festival and a soccer match between Liverpool and Atlético Madrid to go ahead in the days before the lockdown was imposed.

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“At every stage in this crisis we have been guided by the scientific advice and have been making the right decisions at the right time,” he said.

“There is often a wrong time to put certain measures in place, thinking about sustainability and everything else. At all parts of this we have been guided by that science, we have been guided by making the right decisions at the right time, and I stand by that.”

PPE supply

Mr Sunak admitted that Britain was struggling to import enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep staff in hospitals and nursing homes safe as they cared for people with coronavirus. Yvonne Doyle,  medical director for Public Health England, said new guidance issued last week suggesting that some single-use protective items could be reused was designed to protect healthcare workers in the event of shortages.

She said the new guidelines were fully in line with advice from the World Health Organisation. But asked if nurses or nursing home staff would be justified in refusing to work if they were unhappy with the protective equipment they were given, Prof Doyle was non-committal.

“Certainly people have to make their decisions based on whether they are in a risky situation or not,” she said.

“It is very difficult to legislate for all of that from a distance here. But the guidance is very clear on what is safe and not safe to do.”

Chequers meeting

Downing Street confirmed on Monday that British prime minister Boris Johnson met senior advisers at Chequers late last week to discuss the coronavirus outbreak and the circumstances under which social distancing measures could be eased. The prime minister's official spokesman said the government's priority was to avoid triggering a second spike in infections by lifting the lockdown too early.

“The big concern is a second peak. That is what ultimately will do the most damage to health and the most damage to the economy. If you move too quickly, then the virus could begin to spread exponentially again. The public will expect us to do everything we can to stop the spread of the virus and protect life,” the spokesman said.