The UK’s coronavirus death rate almost doubled overnight as ten more people died, bringing the country’s total to 21.
The dramatic rise in deaths comes as Boris Johnson made the decision to ban all mass gatherings and sports events from next weekend.
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said the ten who died ‘were in the at-risk groups’.
The total number of cases in the UK leapt from 820 this morning to 1,140 this afternoon.
A woman is pictured wearing a mask on Oxford Street this morning. Commuters around the country said train stations, carriages and car parks seemed deserted compared to normal
People get swabbed at a drive-through coronavirus testing station set up near a branch of KFC in Wolverhampton. People who think they might have the virus have been told to avoid the city’s hospital
The World Health Organisation says Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic.
Mr Whitty said: ‘I am sorry to confirm 10 further patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 in England have died.
‘All 10 individuals were in the at risk groups. I understand this increase in the number of deaths linked to Covid-19 will be a cause for concern for many.
‘The public should know every measure we are taking is seeking to save lives and protect the most vulnerable.
‘Every single one of us has a role to play in achieving this. If you have a new continuous cough or high temperature, please stay at home for seven days.
‘I also encourage everyone to be washing their hands for 20 seconds regularly.
‘I offer my sincere condolences to the families and friends who have received this difficult news. I ask that their privacy is respected at this time.’
The first UK death from coronavirus was announced on March 5, and Saturday’s announcement of 10 deaths is by far the largest number of deaths announced on a single day in the UK since the outbreak took hold.
Meanwhile, a newborn baby in England who has tested positive for coronavirus is likely to be one of the world’s youngest patients with the disease.
The infant and its mother both tested positive at a north London hospital and staff who had contact with the pair have been advised to self-isolate.
The mother was rushed to hospital days earlier with suspected pneumonia and she and her child are being treated at separate hospitals, The Sun reported.
The newspaper said the woman was tested at North Middlesex Hospital but the result was not known until after the birth.
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust said: ‘Two patients at North Middlesex University Hospital have tested positive for coronavirus.
‘One has been transferred to a specialist centre and one is being treated in an isolation room.
‘The safety of our patients and staff is our top priority, so in following guidance from Public Health England, we are regularly deep cleaning the areas where the patients are cared for and staff who were in close contact with these patients were advised to self-isolate.’
Other developments in the spread of Covid-19 include:
- WHO said Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic and Donald Trump indicated he might add the UK to a list of countries facing a US-travel ban
- Jet2 planes from the UK to Spain turned back in mid-air as the airline announced it was cancelling all flights to the country
- The largest education union in Europe has written to the Prime Minister asking for full disclosure over his decision not to shut schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wales rose by 22, bringing the total to 60
- Apple said it was closing all its stores outside China
As the UK death rate doubled, it also emerged that officials are talking to businesses about ways to help millions work from home.
The cranking up of the government’s response is also understood to hand police the powers to detain suspected virus victims ‘for a limited period’ if necessary stop them spreading the infection.
The dramatic rise in deaths comes as Boris Johnson made the decision to ban all mass gatherings and sports events from next weekend
Council care homes will also be given the legal wriggle room to pare back their services if staff shortages make it impossible to continue providing current levels of support for their elderly residents.
Boris Johnson’s U-turn last night came after he flatly refused on Thursday to replicate the stronger action being taken by other countries to curb big gatherings.
But he came under mounting criticism from health experts and politicians arguing that Britain was not doing enough to keep the public safe.
Only yesterday morning, chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said cancelling large gatherings was ‘eye-catching’ but the chances of contracting coronavirus by attending such events were less than a visit to the pub.
Shoppers are faced with partially empty shelves at a supermarket in London as consumers worry about product shortages as a result of the coronavirus
Chaos has been reported at many supermarkets across the country as shoppers panic-buy supplies amid fears of self-isolation
A shopper has spoken of their shock after spotting a person wearing a full hazmat suit at a Somerset Tesco store amid the ongoing spread of novel coronavirus COVID-19
A Whitehall source denied the Government was binning its previous scientific advice, saying the change of heart reflected concerns about the pressure mass gatherings put on police and ambulance services that may be depleted because of the virus.
‘We have drafted emergency legislation to give the Government the powers it needs to deal with coronavirus, including powers to stop mass gatherings and compensate organisations,’ the source said. ‘We will publish this legislation next week.’
Despite the ban on large gatherings, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said schools would remain open to avoid parents having to take time off work and assured he was ‘particularly mindful’ of the strains being lumped on the NHS.
Such pressure was laid bare last night when it emerged hospitals could stop treating the most severely ill coronavirus victims if the outbreak escalates.
Patients with a poor prognosis may even be taken off ventilators in favour of those with better survival chances.
A man in his late 70s died in Buckinghamshire and a spokesman for Wycombe Hospital said he had underlying health conditions.
In Birmingham, a man in his mid 80s with underlying health conditions died, as did another man in Wolverhampton and one in Leicester.
Two people died in London from the virus but Barts Health Trust hasn’t revealed their ages or whether they had any underlying conditions.
In Leeds, a man in his 90s who had ‘significant other health conditions’, died from the virus and a man in his 80s died in Middlesex.
A man in his 60s died at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow and a man in his 80s with underlying health conditions died in Chester.
In a sign that the health crisis was trumping party politics, Labour last night welcomed the government’s tack to ban mass gatherings.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told BBC Newsnight: ‘I’m pleased the government has taken this decision this evening, I think it’s a sensible approach.
‘We know we are going to have to take some pretty drastic action to contain the virus, and we have to take the public with us. I think this is an important measure.’
Downing Street’s dramatic ramping up of efforts to tackle the outbreak came as:
- A newborn baby in England has become the world’s youngest victim to test positive for coronavirus;
- Hospitals are rapidly increasing their intensive care capacity and doctors say wards already look like ‘war zones’ as they fill up with patients;
- The Queen cancelled her public engagements for the foreseeable future as a ‘sensible precaution’;
- Police were set to be given emergency powers to detain suspected virus victims;
- The boss of British Airways warned of job cuts amid a ‘crisis of global proportions like no other’;
- Alistair Darling, who was chancellor during the 2008 financial crisis, said the Government must consider massive bailouts for airlines and other affected firms;
- Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said schools are staying open so parents don’t have to take time off to look after their children;
- Oxford University sent home all undergraduates, and some primary schools began temperature screening pupils at the gate;
- Donald Trump declared a national emergency on coronavirus to access $50billion of funds and mooted extending the travel ban to the UK;
- The World Health Organisation declared Europe the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.
Yesterday, France became one of the latest European countries to close all schools, universities and nurseries, after a similar move by Ireland on Thursday.
The UK Government said it would not move to close schools yet as the evidence for its effectiveness is lacking, though this will be kept under review.
Mr Williamson said schools and universities ‘shouldn’t be closing’ as he urged education leaders to follow medical and scientific advice during the outbreak.
As part of the new emergency powers, ministers will be able to force schools to stay open if teachers defy the government and try to send pupils home, according to the Times.
The government is reluctant to close schools and will instead add an extra week either side of the upcoming Easter break, the Daily Telegraph reports.
This middle-of-the-road approach would reduce the amount of time that pupils are in classrooms – where they could spread the disease – without incurring the disruption of closing schools entirely.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said there was ‘real logic’ to extending existing holidays rather than shutting the schools.
The Education Secretary will host a coronavirus summit on Monday in which plans may be made to give free food to the poorest pupils and allow schoolchildren to sit exams at home.
Before the raft of measures were revealed last night, the government had come under fire for its response to coronavirus, particularly on keeping the schools open.
Rory Stewart, the former International Development Secretary, said: ‘We are being far too slow in an epidemic like this, you should be moving immediately with no regrets.
‘The earlier you shut schools, the earlier you stop gatherings, the better. Because it is common sense that the more people that meet with each other the more likely they are to pass on the disease.’
The package of emergency powers also reduces the standards local authorities are required to provide in their care homes, according to the Times.
Staffing shortages due to coronavirus sickness leaves councils vulnerable to legal action if their services suffer as a result.
But the government is moving to lower this threshold to ensure dozens of authorities do not have the rule book thrown at them.
Although the government stopped short of preventing visitors to care homes, many – including 120 Bupa branches – unilaterally decided to impose a ban.
The newspaper also reported that measures will be put in place to mitigate against an ‘overwhelmed’ death management industry and speed up the burial and cremation processes.
Coronavirus also sent the world of sport into meltdown yesterday as major fixtures across Britain and the globe were called off in a bid to stop the spread.
All English football league matches were banned until April 4, next month’s London Marathon was postponed until October and the England cricket team’s Sri Lanka tour was cancelled.