British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday said that the coronavirus outbreak would get worse before it gets better, as the number of deaths in the UK rose 260 in one day to more than 1,000.
The Conservative leader, who himself tested positive for COVID-19 last week, issued the warning in a leaflet being sent to all UK households explaining how their actions can help limit the spread.
“We know things will get worse before they get better,” Johnson wrote. “But we are making the right preparations, and the more we all follow the rules, the fewer lives will be lost and the sooner life can return to normal.”
Photo: AFP
Government figures on Saturday showed that the country’s death toll had jumped from 759 to 1,019 in the past 24 hours, with more than 17,000 people infected.
Johnson is self-isolating in Downing Street, but said that he has only mild symptoms and is still leading the government’s response to the outbreak.
British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock has also tested positive, while England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty is staying at home with suspected symptoms.
The UK was put on lockdown last week as the virus spread, with everybody told to stay home wherever possible, and all non-essential shops and services shut.
The leaflet, sent to 30 million British households, explains the rules on leaving the house and how to spot if someone has coronavirus.
The British National Health Service (NHS) has been frantically freeing up hospital beds, and is building a 4,000-bed field hospital in a London conference center, which is due to open this week.
However, there are still fears it cannot cope and a senior NHS official on Friday said that hospitals in London — the epicenter of the UK outbreak — were facing a “tsunami” of patients.
Stephen Powis, medical director of the NHS in England, told the government’s daily news conference on Saturday that it was coping so far.
“We have not reached capacity. I’m also confident that capacity is expanding, particularly in London, so that we keep ahead of increased patient numbers,” he said.
However, he said that “now is not the time to be complacent,” adding that it was vital that everybody followed the advice to stay at home.
“We will see over the course of the next month exactly how that will play out,” he said.
With many medics angry at a lack of kit, the government has asked manufacturers to switch to making ventilators, scrubs and personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks.
The Royal Mint is one of those taking up the challenge, switching production from coins to medical visors. It made 750 on Saturday and hopes to increase this to 4,000 a day this week.
Luxury fashion house Burberry also announced that it was converting its trench coat factory in Yorkshire, England, to make non-surgical gowns and masks for patients.
British Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Alok Sharma said that the government would speed up the process of testing new PPE and of licensing new producers of hand sanitizers.
Johnson remotely chaired a coronavirus videoconference on Saturday morning, he added.
“There are no gaps in the government. We are collectively all working very hard, led by the prime minister,” Sharma said.
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