British coronavirus cases are rising by 2,000 in a WEEK, as the epidemic exceeds most of Europe
The British coronavirus outbreak is one of the fastest escalating epidemics in Europe, official statistics show.
The virus was diagnosed in 676 people yesterday, more than in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Austria or Denmark.
This was 35 percent more than the day before, when 407 had fallen, meaning the total toll had nearly doubled from 1,523 to 2,626 in two days. Today, an increase of another 603 confirmed patients has been seen to a total of 3,269.
Only Italy, Spain, France and Germany are seeing faster growth, but they all have a significantly higher number of cases – each with at least 7,000 cases each.
Switzerland, which has a comparable number of patients to the UK, saw only 450 new cases between Tuesday and Thursday, while Britain had 1,083.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged this week that the epidemic was entering its “rapid growth phase” and scientists have said that Britain and other countries are only weeks behind Italy, which is gripped by the worst outbreak outside of China.
Boris Johnson said at a conference today, “At the moment, the disease is progressing in ways that don’t seem to respond to our interventions yet” – he urged people to follow the advice not to go public or to travel unless they can’t avoid it
Speaking at a conference on Monday, Mr. Johnson said the UK is approaching the “fast growth portion of the upward curve” in the number of cases.
“Without drastic measures, things could double every five or six days,” he said.
As it stands, the number of cases in the UK has doubled in just three days – it was 1,372 on Sunday, March 15 and 2,626 against yesterday, Wednesday, March 16.
Today it has risen to 3,269 – the World Health Organization will publish its official figures for all countries tomorrow.
In his nationwide speech today, Mr. Johnson said, “Currently, the disease is progressing in ways that do not seem to respond to our interventions yet.
“I believe that a combination of the measures we are asking the public to take and better testing … will enable us to recover and turn the tide in the next 12 weeks.
“I can’t stand here and tell you we’ll be on the downward slope [by then] – it’s possible, but I just can’t say that’s for sure.
“We don’t know where we are and we don’t know how long this thing will last, but I can say it will be finite.
“We are turning the tide and I can see how to do it for the next 12 weeks.”
Europe is now the beating heart of the global coronavirus pandemic and has seen more deaths and deaths than China, where the virus was first discovered.
Italy alone now has more deaths than China, and the widespread spread of the infection in Europe has led to 100,000 new cases diagnosed this month in just 10 days, after taking the world about 10 weeks to reach the first 100,000.
More than 224,000 cases of the coronavirus have now been diagnosed worldwide, and more than 9,200 people have died of the disease since it first appeared at the beginning of the new year
In the past week, the UK has declared the fifth most new case of coronavirus: 2170.
For comparison: Switzerland declared 2,159; Netherlands 1,323; Belgium 1,219; Norway 1,031; Sweden 841; Austria 1,150; and Denmark 715.
The countries that indicated more were Italy (21,357), Spain (9,539), France (5,878) and Germany (5,860).
All of those countries have significantly worse outbreaks than the UK, but Britain is expected to follow in the coming days and weeks.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson intensified the UK’s response to the spread of the virus this week and urged people not to go out.
He said that people should stay at home for at least a week if they get the symptoms of coronavirus – cough or fever – and two weeks if someone else at their home does.
People should also not visit elderly relatives or friends or people with long-term illnesses and should avoid all gatherings.
Everyone should work from home if they can, he said, and should avoid restaurants, pubs, clubs and cafes and not travel unless absolutely necessary.
The death toll from the British coronavirus has risen to 137 today as the individual death toll in Scotland has doubled overnight and Confirmed Northern Ireland’s first victim of the life-threatening infection.
Officials announced a further 33 deaths, the highest number of fatalities recorded on British soil since the crisis quickly got out of hand last week.
Among the new deaths is a 47-year-old – the second youngest British victim. MailOnline understands that the patient was a Midlands woman with high blood pressure and another underlying health condition.
Scotland announced three more deaths earlier this afternoon, bringing the total to six. Two deaths have already been registered in Wales.
Italy has overtaken China as the country with the most coronavirus deaths after suffering 427 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 3,405.
The latest figures have undermined hopes that the unprecedented national lockdown has helped slow the spread of the pathogen.
A medical worker wearing a protective mask and suit is treating a patient suffering from coronavirus disease in Cremona today
A triage ward of the Spedali di Brescia Hospital in Northern Italy, the worst affected region of Italy
The death toll in China, where the coronavirus started, is currently 3,249 – their outbreak seems to be about to end after no new cases have been diagnosed for the first time.
It comes after military trucks were deployed across Italy to transport dozens of victims’ coffins to be cremated, as well as hair-raising images of patients lying on hospital beds along the corridors of an intensive care unit in Bergamo.
The crisis highlights how health services in Northern Italy have been overwhelmed by the pandemic, with doctors describing hospitals in crisis and many doctors working from makeshift tents.
The governor of Lombardy, the most affected region in Bergamo, said that doctors and nurses in the hospitals in the region were at their limit.
BORIS JOHNSON SAYS BRITANIAN ‘CAN IT TURN TIME ON CORONAVIRUS’
Boris Johnson today insisted that Britain can turn the tide “on the corona virus in 12 weeks” – but advocated Londoners to more strictly obey the advice on “social isolation.”
The prime minister said he knew how much was being asked of the public, insisting he was sure the outbreak could be “dispatched.”
He said it was “absolutely essential” to follow the guidelines to stay out of bars and cafes and avoid unnecessary contact.
But he warned that obedience to the rules in part of London was “patchy”, suggesting that there should be a crackdown soon – although he insisted it wouldn’t be a total shutdown.
Boris Johnson today urged Britain to turn the tide in 12 weeks – but advocated for Londoners to more strictly obey the advice on ‘social isolation’
At a press conference on Downing Street tonight, Boris Johnson said he knew how much was being asked of the public for insisting he was convinced the outbreak could be sent “packing”
“It is vital that people follow that advice and there is a tremendous amount of evidence that they are,” said Johnson.
But (there is) some evidence that it is very patchy in some parts of the capital and in some areas where people may not follow it the way we need.
“Maybe we should consider moving on.”
Mr. Johnson also suggested that he wanted to step up testing en masse. After promising to increase the daily rate from about 5,000 to 25,000, he has now said this figure will increase to 250,000.
“We’re greatly increasing testing to see if you have it now, and increasing daily tests from 5,000 a day to 10,000 to 25,000 and then to 250,000,” he said.
Johnson said the UK was ready to purchase hundreds of thousands of kits for an antibody test that would reveal who had passed the virus and had immunity.
And he said the first British patient underwent a randomized study of a drug to treat coronavirus.
‘We are getting so much better quickly in understanding the genomics at the heart of this virus, much of that is happening in this country, we are getting better in understanding the drugs that can treat and cure it and today we have the first British coronavirus patient in a randomized trial of drugs that can treat the disease, ‘he said.
British experts, scientists, expect to start trials for the first vaccine within a month.
Moreover, we are getting better at testing. This crisis is so difficult because the enemy is invisible and the answer is to remove the invisibility and identify the virus. ‘
When the death toll in the UK reached 137 this afternoon, the prospect of a tighter closure for London’s nine million residents seems to be approaching.
Fears are growing that the capital is causing the outbreak to spread, with about a third of the total infections detected there and much more in the commuter band that borders the city.
The government has insisted that London not be completely cut off from the rest of the country, with ‘zero’ views’ of trains in and out of the capital being scrapped and ‘no plans’ to completely shut down the piping system, although services have been reduced .
Anger as hospital staff test refused despite it is available
A director of a major hospital in London claims that NHS England blocks medical personnel from being tested for coronavirus, according to a leaked memo.
Doctors and nurses at King’s College Hospital have been told they cannot perform the tests – even if they have the option – until all hospitals across the country are ready to do the same.
A senior consultant warned last night that it is “utterly incomprehensible” that hospitals in London, which are most affected by the virus, are being prevented by test personnel.
The whistleblower alleged that it put doctors and nurses who may have been exposed to the virus into a “state of fear” as to whether they were at risk of infecting patients.
The decision also leaves hospitals short of staff, as they are forced to stay at home for up to 14 days if other members of their household have symptoms. Testing would allow people with negative results to return to work in hospitals.
According to minutes from a meeting of hospital bosses at King’s College Hospital on Wednesday evening, CEO Clive Kay warned that NHS England did not want staff testing to begin before it was available across the country.
The Mail’s internal memo states, “Clive made it very clear that we should not test personnel for Covid-19 at this time.
“The reason is that there is no national capacity to test all employees who need to be tested.”
It said NHS England “does not want to introduce inequality in the system where some Trusts test staff and others cannot or cannot.” A separate leaked email shows that doctors at the hospital this week were told they were testing too many patients.
A senior consultant at the hospital said last night that the decision to postpone testing doctors and nurses until it was available across the country endangered staff and patients, adding, “This is a mess. The capacity to significantly scale up tests is already in place. NHS England knows this. Trust chief executives are under great pressure not to test personnel or the public. This is completely against all principles of infectious diseases. ‘
The consultant said that staff clean every patient who arrives for relatively minor MRSA bacterial infections, but people must admit without discovering if they have coronavirus.
This means that they do not know whether they should be separated or that doctors and nurses should use personal protective equipment when handling them. The doctor said, “We need to test every shot. Test, test, test, it’s really clear. ‘
The doctor also warned that staff with mild symptoms were anxious about not being able to check whether they had coronavirus, adding, “If I have a little cough but know my hospital is falling apart, will I isolate for 14 days?”
“Am I infecting the hospital? Do I stay home and let people die because I’m not there? Not giving that doctor a chance to know if they’re contagious is crazy. The capacity is there. ‘
Boris Johnson wants to increase the number of tests per day from 10,000 to 25,000 and prioritize NHS personnel testing. But the British Medical Association said members claimed it did not.
A spokesman for King’s College Hospital said, “We are reviewing staff tests.”
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