An image of Queen Elizabeth II and quotes from her historic TV broadcast commenting on the coronavirus epidemic are displayed at Piccadilly Circus in London, Wednesday April 8, 2020. An estimated 24 million people in the UK watched Sunday evening's TV broadcast when the Queen addressed the nation. The highly contagious COVID-19 coronavirus has impacted on nations around the globe, many imposing self isolation and exercising social distancing when people move from their homes.
The UK reported its highest single-day tally over 24 hours on April 8 as 938 coronavirus case came to light. UK's overall death toll has risen to 7,097 while over 60,000 people have been infected. Prime Minister Boris Johnson continues to remain in the ICU of London's St Thomas Hospital. Doctors have said that his condition has been improving. While Johnson was given oxygen support he was not put on ventilator.
The government's deputy chief scientific adviser, Angela McLean, said that despite the grim death figures, the number of new cases “is not accelerating out of control ... and that is good news."
Johnson, 55, is the most high-profile of more than 60,000 people in Britain who have been confirmed to have the virus.
He was diagnosed on March 26 and still had a cough and fever 10 days later. He was admitted to St. Thomas' Hospital Sunday and moved to the ICU on Monday after his condition deteriorated. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is standing in for Johnson while he is hospitalized.
Johnson spokesman James Slack said earlier Wednesday that the prime minister was receiving “standard oxygen treatment” and breathing without any other assistance.
Johnson’s illness has unleashed a wave of sympathy for the prime minister, including from his political opponents. It has also heightened public unease about the government’s response to the outbreak, which faced criticism even with the energetic Johnson at the helm.
Britain was slower than many other European nations to close schools, shut businesses and restrict people’s movements in a bid to curb infections, and the government has struggled to meet its goal of dramatically increasing the number of individuals tested for the virus.
Britain initially restricted testing to patients in hospitals with coronavirus symptoms, but has begun testing health care workers and their families. The government has said even broader testing will be part of the country’s exit strategy from the lockdown, and has promised to test 100,000 people a day by the end of April. The current number is about 14,000 a day.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild to moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. But for some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause pneumonia and death.
After a slow start, the government has urged the private sector to get involved. Drug makers GSK and AstraZeneca say they are setting up a lab at Cambridge University capable of performing 30,000 tests a day by the start of May.
Slack defended the government's response.
“We took our decisions based on the best available medical and scientific advice,” he said. “We believe we acted with the right measures at the right rime.”
In Johnson’s absence, it’s unclear who would decide whether to ease nationwide lockdown measures the British government imposed on March 23 in response to the worldwide pandemic.
The initial three-week period set for the restrictions expires next week, but with cases and deaths still growing, officials say it is too soon to change course.
Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, said it was clear “these restrictions will not end” next week.
“We will not throw away the gains we have made and the lives we have saved by abandoning our efforts just as they begin to bear fruit,” he said.
Meanwhile, officials are watching anxiously to see whether Britain’s hospitals can cope when the number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients reaches its peak. Before the outbreak, the U.K. had about 5,000 intensive care beds, and the government has been scrambling to increase that capacity.
The Nightingale Hospital -- a temporary facility for coronavirus patients built in nine days at London’s vast ExCel conference center -- admitted its first patients on Wednesday. It can accommodate 4,000 beds, if needed. Several other temporary hospitals are being built around the country, including a facility in Birmingham due to open Friday.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the city, which is the epicenter of Britain’s outbreak, had one-quarter of its existing hospital beds still available, as well as the new Nightingale hospital.
Khan was under pressure to do more to keep transit workers safe after 14 London transport staff died from the new coronavirus, including eight bus drivers.
London’s subways and buses have continued to run a reduced service to transport key workers. Khan said buses were being cleaned with antiviral disinfectant and protective screens were being installed between driver and passengers.
Anne Nyack, whose 36-year-old son Emeka Nyack Ihenacho is among the drivers who died, said drivers were still not being protected.
“They are at risk, my son was at risk, sadly he died,” she told ITV. “He was given hand sanitizer — he had no mask, no gloves, nothing.”
