Welcome to this bbc news special, as the lockdown enters its second week, we will be bringing you the daily press c0 nfe re nce we will be bringing you the Daily Press Conference from downing street as soon as we get it but lets first of all take a look at todays main div elements. The death toll from coronavirus in the uk has now risen to more than 1400. It comes as the government insists it is ramping up its capacity to test health and social care workers for the virus, amid confusion over whether it has reached its target, set for yesterday at 10,000 tests a day. Doctors leaders has warned shortage of tests has quality responds for the Health Service. This afternoon downing street has said that over 900 front line nhs staff were tested for the virus over the weekend. That is in addition to tests being carried out in a clinical setting. It comes as the Prime Minister announced 20,000 former nhs staff have returned to work to help in the fight against the virus. Also today, a breathing aid that helps keep patients out of intensive care has been created in this than a week by scientists working with the mercedes formula 1 team. 0ne scientists working with the mercedes formula 1 team. One of europes biggest airlines, easyjet, formula 1 team. One of europes biggestairlines, easyjet, is grounding its entire fleet because of the pandemic, and there is a warning the entire Airline Sector may need a government bailout. This morning, an expert adviser to the government has said the rate of Coronavirus Infections does appear to be slowing. That suggests government restrictions could be having an impact. 0ur Health Editor hugh pym has been to the temporary nhs Nightingale Hospital based at the nhl nhs Nightingale Hospital based at the nhl the excel centre in london, and has been talking to Sir Simon Stevens about how prepared the temporary hospital is to admit coronavirus patients. Today there
are over 9000 positive coronavirus patients in hospitals across england, and we know that number is only going to increase. Thats why what you see here is a mass mobilisation taking place right across the country, but also at these new Nightingale Hospitals. This has been an Extraordinary Team effort on the part of nurses and doctors and therapists and pharmacists across london but also volu nteers pharmacists across london but also volunteers and paramedics and people returning to help. When these services are needed, they will be available beginning later this week and because this is a Global Health emergency, we are actually seeing similar types of hospitals being established in berlin and madrid and new york. Will you be stretching your staff too much by moving people here and leaving of hospitals short staffed . Here and leaving of hospitals shortstaffed . The whole of the nhs is freeing up hospital beds for coronavirus patients. Weve got 9000 people across the country who are in a hospital right now, and we know
that number is bound to increase. Thats why we are also creating this extra capacity to look after patients, staffed by Health Service professionals but also by those who are returning to health. 25,000 nurses and doctors have come back to health, as well as paramedics and volu nteers health, as well as paramedics and volunteers from all walks of life. Can you give any indication how much staff sickness is affecting life and people needing to self monitor . Nhs staff are affected just like people across the country as a whole, so we are seeing staff who are doing the right thing of having to self isolate at home. That is one of the reasons why it is so important we are ramping up staff testing. But it is also why it is so vital that all of us take the medical advice and stay at home. That will reduce the infections and reduce the need for services such as this new Nightingale Hospital. How quickly
can you ramp up staff testing, because you have started with about 800, it doesnt seem a huge amount, how quickly can you get it to scale . By how quickly can you get it to scale . By the end of this week we will be able to do double the number of tests that were available last week. And we want to start with Critical Care, nurses, with a e staff, with ambulance personnel, and then expand that to a much wider group of nhs staff over the coming days and weeks. The government said another 8000 ventilators were on the way to add to the stock of 8000. How quickly will they arrive and will they be enough . We are expanding the capacity to look after patients who need ventilation very rapidly. We are able to effectively double that, through using operating theatres and recovery areas in our existing nhs hospitals and then over and above that, we see new facilities coming on like the nhs Nightingale Hospitalhere in london but also in manchester and birmingham if needed. How stretched our hospitals right now in london, . We have 9000 confirmed cases in hospital beds today and that number is bound to increase. As it happens, we have got available intensive care and available intensive care and available hospital beds, but we are also bringing online additional capacity, such as these Nightingale Hospitals, as we need them. What reassurance can you give nhs staff about protective equipment, some of whom we feel itjust isnt there . About protective equipment, some of whom we feel it just isnt there . M is vital nhs staff get the protective equipment they need. 170 million items of that protective equipment has been shipped. It is a huge logistics exercise. The army have been brilliant in helping but we know we are going to need more, and the government are pulling out all the stops to procure for us thatPersonal Protective Equipment that we will want over the coming days and weeks. That Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of the nhs in england, talking to hugh pym. Lets speak to our correspondent, jon donnison, at the new Nightingale Hospital in east london. Jon, when are we expecting the nightingale to actually open . Well, we heard from Simon Stevens there. He was talking about later this week. We think possibly as early as wednesday. There has been a lot of activity here behind me today, we have seen some of the ambulance staff taking equipment in. Inside its not just staff taking equipment in. Inside its notjust the nhs who are setting this Field Hospital up, we have also had members of the armed services, engineers, medics, also involved. Initially theyre talking about 500 beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen, but that could expand to 4000 if needed. Weve also got similar field
hospitals being set up at arenas in manchester, birmingham, glasgow and cardiff. And, jon, were hearing that airline crew are volunteering to go and work there . Thats right. This morning we heard two things from easyjet. First of all that theyre grounded from easyjet. First of all that they re grounded all their flights, but also that they have written to all of their 9000 staff including 4000 cabin staff and asking them that anyone who has first aid experience, cpr, that sort of thing, might want to volunteer to work in either the excel centre here or some of those other Field Hospitals i was talking about. That would be to do work that might involved changing bedding, that sort of thing, under the supervision of experienced doctors and nurses, and with some training beforehand, and virgin atla ntic training beforehand, and Virgin Atlantic has also written to its staff offering the same thing. Its not completely clear under what terms that will be agreed, whether they will continue to be paid in
full by the airlines, or whether their celery will reduce or alter in some way. Jon, thank you very much indeed. Jon donnison reporting there. As the government insits its ramping up its capacity to test health and social care workers for the coronavirus the doctors union, the bma, has says the need for increased testing of healthcare staff is urgent. Lauren moss reports. Test, test, test. Thats the Global Health advice to track, tackle and get on top of the coronavirus crisis. And its what the uk government has promised to do. At the minute, Public Health england says capacity is at almost 11,000 a day. More than 40,000 tests were done in the past week, though, compared to germany, which is carrying out 500,000 tests a week. There are a handful of countries that have got higher rates of testing than us, but actually, we are amongst the highest testers in the world. And as i said, the
numbers are going up. And we recognise the importance of this the importance of testing, the importance of the equipment, and also, i should say, the importance of having enough trained staff. 20,000 retired doctors and nurses have also answered the call to return, and final year medical students are being called up. Instead of spending their final few months before graduation in australia, harriet and elizabeth are working in a e at 0xfords John Radcliffe hospital. When patients come in the front door, well direct them to the correct part of the department. And really thats just making sure that patients who might have covid 19 arent coming into contact with those who dont have any symptoms. What is it like for you both, on a personal level . Weve just been kind of thrown into doing it all, and weve all been handling it. And its really great to use the skills that weve done over the past six years. Getting Personal Protective Equipment out is still a top priority for both medical staff and those in social care settings,
like at this care home in dorset. How are we supposed to keep the two metre rule . We cant. And we cant. I mean, were doing personal care, were talking to people who need us to be close because they cant hear. Testing for frontline nhs staff with covid 19 symptoms also began over the weekend, so those self isolating as a precaution can get back to work. In spain, 12,000 Health Workers have had the virus. We do need this extended to all staff. And certainly in general practice at the moment, were still waiting for testing. So, ive got lots of doctors contacting me every day, saying that they want to get back to work. Surgeon Amged El Hawrani became one of the first frontline doctors in the uk to die at the weekend, after contracting coronavirus in leicester. Doctors are calling for all medics to be eligible for full death in service if something happens to them during the outbreak. The Welsh Government has freed up £1 billion to spend on supporting businesses and public services. This fund will help businesses to survive the coronavirus challenge, so that they are ready, when we come out on the other side of this, to go on providing jobs and futures here in wales. And this help is over and above the support schemes already announced by the chancellor of the exchequer. There are nearly 20,000 cases of covid 19 in the uk. But today, the government advisor modelling them offered a glimmer of hope when he said hospital admissions are slowing down. But, we are warned, it will be many more months before we can even think of life getting back to normal. Lauren moss, bbc news. Today, the Royal College of nursing said its unacceptable that some staff working on the front line are treating patients without Personal Protective Equipment and are calling for immediate action from the government. Joining me to talk about this more
is their chief executive, donna kinnair, who is in north london. Thank you very much forjoining us. What do you want the government to do on this ppe, Personal Protective Equipment, that they are not doing now . We have said it is completely unacceptable that nurses this far into the crisis are in all settings whether it is hospitals, community or care homes, have not been provided with Personal Protective Equipment. And they are treating patients in covid 19 wards, some without any protection at all. Were talking about thousands of bits of kit, arent we, to get them out as soon as possible around the country. Thats not going to happen quickly. Well, it needs to, because we have had some time to prepare for this, and my assurances, assurances were given to me a week ago by the government that they were pushing equipment out as far as possible. They have said they have the equipment, so if they have the equipment, so if they have the equipment, then we need to be getting it out to hospitals, to care homes, so that people that need to nurse patients with covid 19 can be protected. From what you have been able to gather, what is morale amongst nursing staff on the front line, what is that like at the moment . The biggest thing that we are facing is that nurses and other Health Care Professionals are frightened. Theyre Health Care Professionals are frightened. They re frightened Health Care Professionals are frightened. Theyre frightened for themselves and theyre frightened for theirfamilies, but themselves and theyre frightened for their families, but actually many of us are trying to do this job, and we will step up to the plate and deliver nursing care. But there is no nurse that delivers nursing care in under a metre away from the patient. We have to touch patients. Theyre not all symptomatic when they have got covid 19. And we need to provide these nurses with the proper protection. And roughly how many nurses are off work at the moment, self isolating . I nurses are off work at the moment, self isolating . I think nurses are off work at the moment, self isolating . I think i saw a figure over the weekend of about one
in five. Is that right, and to what extent in five. Is that right, and to what exte nt d oes in five. Is that right, and to what extent does that mean that the hospitals are very understaffed or short staffed at the moment . Hospitals are very understaffed or shortstaffed at the moment . There are about 20 was my last reckoning of nurses that are off at the moment, or self isolated, so we started with a shortage of nurses as the Royal College of nursing has been campaigning for some time, that we do not have enough nurses in this country. But we are seeing that many nurses, retired nurses and people that have left nursing, are coming back to help at the front line alongside others, so it is something that we can get through. But what we need to do is make sure that were coming the fear of those nurses out there by providing them with the proper equipment. Proper equipment is one of your appeals. What about testing as well . Because we have heard that particularly from doctors leaders desperate for an increase in testing. We only need to look across to countries that have
got this under control, such as korea, and we know that testing has been an important part of it. It is an important part to get our staff back to work, nurses back to work quickly, but also for surveillance about how this virus is spreading and what it is doing in the general population. So we need testing on two fronts, really, one so that you can be tested and if you havent got the virus, you can go back to work and continue to do yourjob. And the other type of testing to tell us whats happening and who has got it in the communities. When you look at other countries, i know you just mention south korea, but germany is well has a lot more testing than we do, do you feel that in this country our Health Service and the authorities have been underprepared for this whole crisis . I think we embarked on a particular way of managing this, and as weve got more and more knowledge about the virus,
weve had to change some of our tactics. And i think testing has been demonstrated to be an effective mechanism. So, ithink been demonstrated to be an effective mechanism. So, i think we have been slow, because we are slowly building it, andi slow, because we are slowly building it, and i recognise that everybody is working as hard as they can, and i guess i wish we had got to it to four weeks earlier. Chief executive of the Royal College of nursing, dame donna kinnair, thank you very much forjoining us. Hello and welcome, youre watching a bbc news special. Well be bringing you all the latest coronavirus developments including the daily news briefing from downing street at 5pm, in about an hours time, were expecting to hear from the foreign secretary dominic raab. Stay with us for that. So, lets take a look at how medicines are being distributed and the supply chain there. Lets talk now to the chair of the National Pharmacy association, andrew lane, whojoins me from salisbury. 0ur pharmacy is getting all the medicines they need to distribute to the community . Are they getting all the community . Are they getting all the medicines they need . Well, the supply chain has plenty of stop in it, ben, plenty. But what we are asking for a century from the public is to only order from a doctor, only the medicines you need, to allow extra time for it to be ready in the pharmacy as well, this is actually going to help as we replenish stocks. And it ensures everyone in the Community Gets the medicines they need. As i say, really, there is plenty of stock in the supply chain but you may see some pharmacies having to limit some of the most vital and in demand medicines so there is enough to go around. From what you say, it sounds like people have been stockpiling certain medicines . I think there was
an initial rush to get existing prescriptions that were in the