UK coronavirus death toll nears 10,000 as minister says PM Johnson must rest

By Michael Holden

 

A message is seen on the side of a tower block in Manchester as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, Manchester, Britain, April 11, 2020. REUTERS/Phil Noble

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's COVID-19 death toll neared 10,000 on Saturday after health officials reported another 917 hospital deaths, while one senior minister said Prime Minister Boris Johnson will need time off as he recovers from being seriously ill with the virus.

 

Britain has now reported 9,875 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, the fifth highest national number globally.

Saturday's increase was the second day running that the number of deaths had increased by more than 900.

 

Almost 80,000 people in Britain have tested positive for the virus, among them Johnson, who is in the early stages of recovery on a hospital ward after spending three nights in intensive care.

 

Downing Street said Johnson "continues to make very good progress", but interior minister Priti Patel said it was vital he took time to fully recover.

 

"The message to the prime minister is that we want him to get better and he needs some time and some space to rest, recuperate and recover," Patel said.

 

"And the whole of cabinet would support that message," she told a news conference in Downing Street.

 

Foreign minister Dominic Raab is currently deputising for the prime minister.

 

Johnson's office said on Friday that he was back on his feet and British newspapers reported he was watching films and reading letters sent to him by his fiancee Carrie Symonds, who is pregnant and who herself has suffered COVID-19 symptoms.

 

The government's main focus in recent days has been trying to ensure Britons comply with stay-home orders and a ban on social gatherings, especially over a sunny Easter weekend.

 

Police said only a small minority of people were ignoring the message and early data showed officers in England and Wales had issued 1,084 on-the-spot fines so far for people breaking the restrictions. Police powers to enforce came in on March 26 - after the start of lockdown measures.

 

'NO MAGICAL SOLUTION'

 

However, the government has come under increasing pressure to detail how long the strict curbs on movement will last, with the shutdown meaning many businesses are unable to operate.

 

Ministers have said Britain needs to pass the peak of the outbreak before any changes can be made. Health minister Matt Hancock said that although the rise in numbers of hospital admissions had started to flatten out, the judgement was they had not reached that point.

 

"There is no magical solution that doesn't require difficult decisions," said Stephen Powis, the medical director of the National Health Service in England.

 

"This was never going to be a sprint over a few weeks; this is going to be longer, it is going to be a marathon."

 

There was mounting criticism on Saturday from doctors and nurses who said they were having to treat patients without proper personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves.

 

Some 19 health care workers including 11 doctors have died after testing positive for the coronavirus.

 

The British Medical Association, which represents doctors, said medics were facing a "heart-breaking" decision over whether to treat patients without proper protection and so put themselves at risk.

 

The Royal College of Nursing said it was getting calls about shortages, saying some staff were "petrified".

 

Hancock said 761 million items of PPE had been delivered to the National Health Service but there were issues in ensuring it reached the people who needed it.

 

"I'm sorry if people feel that there have been failings," Home Secretary Patel said.

 

(Editing by Toby Chopra, David Evans and Frances Kerry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-12

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3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

 

"I'm sorry if people feel that there have been failings," Home Secretary Patel said.

Understatement of the century. Hope people will remember what a mess this government made of this crisis, and how much of an impact all the budget cuts to the health services made by Tory governments have now, come election time.

16 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Understatement of the century. Hope people will remember what a mess this government made of this crisis, and how much of an impact all the budget cuts to the health services made by Tory governments have now, come election time.

It would appear that the electorate do not share your thoughts on this, the Westminster Voting intention has never been higher, Cons 55% +2, Lab 29% -1. Government Approval rating 61% +9. 

Boris has still got great appeal even from his sickbed.

Get well Boris, you’ve got some very serious questions awaiting you.

23 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Get well Boris, you’ve got some very serious questions awaiting you.

You can see the fawning right wing press rallying round him now, fighting to project this cult of Boris the winner, despite the rising death toll for which he is responsible. 

 

But mountains of evidence of his and his cabinets shocking, callous ineptitude exists. If justice still exists in the UK, in time they will be excoriated.

Edited April 12, 20206 yr by RuamRudy

What an uncaring excuse for a human, Patel is. Totally indifferent to the suffering she and her useless government have caused.

There will be a day of reckoning over their incompetence regarding the Kowid 19 tragedy.

25 minutes ago, vogie said:

It would appear that the electorate do not share your thoughts on this, the Westminster Voting intention has never been higher, Cons 55% +2, Lab 29% -1. Government Approval rating 61% +9. 

Boris has still got great appeal even from his sickbed.

What's going to happen to his popularity when he fails to deliver Brexit?

 

Let's be honest - Brexit is not going to happen this year. Not only have Johnson's multiple failures caused thousands of needless deaths and wrecked our economy, he has derailed the precious Brexit express. 

1 minute ago, RuamRudy said:

What's going to happen to his popularity when he fails to deliver Brexit?

 

Let's be honest - Brexit is not going to happen this year. Not only have Johnson's multiple failures caused thousands of needless deaths and wrecked our economy, he has derailed the precious Brexit express. 

If this has anything to do with the topic please let me know?

8 minutes ago, vogie said:

If this has anything to do with the topic please let me know?

You raised the point that his popularity is nearing astronomic levels. I am merely projecting beyond this nightmare of his creation and wondering whether that adoration will continue as the hangover of his ineptitude lingers and has inevitable knock-on effects. 

 

What's the shelf life of popcorn? Should I start to stockpile now? 

48 minutes ago, vogie said:

It would appear that the electorate do not share your thoughts on this, the Westminster Voting intention has never been higher, Cons 55% +2, Lab 29% -1. Government Approval rating 61% +9. 

Boris has still got great appeal even from his sickbed.

If this has anything to do with the topic please let me know?

21 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

What's going to happen to his popularity when he fails to deliver Brexit?

 

Let's be honest - Brexit is not going to happen this year. Not only have Johnson's multiple failures caused thousands of needless deaths and wrecked our economy, he has derailed the precious Brexit express. 

What are the multiple failures of his that have caused thousands of deaths...serious question?

2 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

You raised the point that his popularity is nearing astronomic levels. I am merely projecting beyond this nightmare of his creation and wondering whether that adoration will continue as the hangover of his ineptitude lingers and has inevitable knock-on effects. 

 

What's the shelf life of popcorn? Should I start to stockpile now? 

The point I raised was in reply to another Boris bashing attempt, we all understand the 'usual suspects' do not like the Tories/Boris for whatever reason, in your case I fully understand as we have had nothing but negative jibes for 4 years towards the political party that most of our electorate voted for. Whenever a topic arises about our PMs health the personal attacks begin, it does get quite tedious at times and in truth I try to avoid.

 

As to the question about "popcorn"

 

The best time to eat your popcorn, for optimal texture & flavor, is within one week.

https://thepoppedpopcorncompany.com/pages/popcorn-ordering-questions

Wow, if you take into consideration overall population UK death tolls are 2 1/2 times that of the US.

I wonder why this is.

2 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Wow, if you take into consideration overall population UK death tolls are 2 1/2 times that of the US.

I wonder why this is.

Population density may have something to do with it....but you could also try asking Spain, Italy or France the same thing

13 minutes ago, baansgr said:

What are the multiple failures of his that have caused thousands of deaths...serious question?

Admittedly he was not in charge 4 years ago, but Exercise Cygnus was a UK government sponsored review of the nation's preparedness to cope with a pandemic. The results were stark - the UK was, then, woefully unprepared. However the report was buried and no actions taken. 

 

So that was someone else's failure that Johnson inherited, however we have seen clear evidence of the unfolding horror of Covid-19 since late last year and it seems that nothing was done about it. You don't need me to tell you how badly resourced the NHS is now - given that we had months and months to prepare, there is no excuse whatsoever for key staff to be left without proper protection. 

 

And then there is the failed 'herd immunity' concept that is much of the reason we are so badly hit. 

Edited April 12, 20206 yr by RuamRudy

5 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

Admittedly he was not in charge 4 years ago, but Exercise Cygnus was a UK government sponsored review of the nation's preparedness to cope with a pandemic. The results were stark - the UK was, then, woefully unprepared. However the report was buried and no actions taken. 

 

So that was someone else's failure that Johnson inherited, however we have seen clear evidence of the unfolding horror of Covid-19 since late last year and it seems that nothing was done about it. You don't need me to tell you how badly resourced the NHS is now - given that we had months and months to prepare, there is no excuse whatsoever for key staff to be left without proper protection. 

 

And then there is the failed 'herd immunity' concept that is much of the reason we are so badly hit. 

First case in UK was late January with no confirmed transmissions until late February...so no real delay....as for herd community, seems to be working well in Sweden...so there are not really multiple mistakes made by Boris that have caused thousands of deaths...

22 minutes ago, vogie said:

The point I raised was in reply to another Boris bashing attempt, we all understand the 'usual suspects' do not like the Tories/Boris for whatever reason, in your case I fully understand as we have had nothing but negative jibes for 4 years towards the political party that most of our electorate voted for. Whenever a topic arises about our PMs health the personal attacks begin, it does get quite tedious at times and in truth I try to avoid.

 

As to the question about "popcorn"

 

The best time to eat your popcorn, for optimal texture & flavor, is within one week.

https://thepoppedpopcorncompany.com/pages/popcorn-ordering-questions

Whilst you happily dish out the attacks on party leaders in shovelfuls (in an equally partisan manner, of course) you are touchingly protective towards Johnson. Loyalty is an admirable trait. 

 

Thanks for the tip about popcorn longevity. 1 week is a bit tight but I no longer fear for our logistics capabilities at the back end of the year so I am confident stocks should be fine. 

Edited April 12, 20206 yr by RuamRudy

1 minute ago, RuamRudy said:

Whilst you happily dish out the attacks on party leaders in shovelfuls (in an equally partisan manner, of course) you are touchingly protective towards Johnson. Loyalty is an admirable trait. 

 

Thanks for the tip about popcorn longevity. 1 week is a bit tight but I no longer fear for our logistics capabilities at the back end of the year so I am confident stocks should be fine. 

I wouldn't go as far as to say I "happily dish out the attacks on party leaders in shovelfuls" suffice to say I and many other of our fellow countrymen will be relieved we do not have Corbyn, Abbott and McDonnall and indeed the rest of the red brigade in charge at such a most crucial time of our lives.

As I said tis you and the usual suspects that are in the minority on this one, whilst Boris and his party have never enjoyed such support, they have broken all records with the support they are getting.

 

 

6 minutes ago, baansgr said:

First case in UK was late January with no confirmed transmissions until late February...so no real delay....as for herd community, seems to be working well in Sweden...so there are not really multiple mistakes made by Boris that have caused thousands of deaths...

The ability to observe situations which might arise in other countries, monitor how they develop and determine the effectiveness of the strategies deployed in the fight against the is surely the job of any government? 

 

But more than that - I would expect my government to model the same situation on my country and determine the best strategy from the start - but even as little as a month ago or government had no clear or agreed response. 

 

But even if they had a strategy in place, they made no effort to prepare for it. No respirators, no ppe, no plans in place to deal with what everyone with half a brain could see was coming. 

 

I am not sure that Sweden is the success story you seen to think it is. I posted a link yesterday which suggested that their death rate significantly higher than that of their neighbours. But of course, counting methods may differ across borders so it will take some time and effort to determine the most effective approach. 

 

But even if it proves to be the best course of action, surely if you are going to willingly let the virus rip through the population, you make sure that your health service is adequately prepared for that? Johnson definitely failed there. 

21 minutes ago, baansgr said:

First case in UK was late January with no confirmed transmissions until late February...so no real delay....as for herd community, seems to be working well in Sweden...so there are not really multiple mistakes made by Boris that have caused thousands of deaths...

It remains to be seen if herd immunity is working well in Sweden.

The point is did it work well in the UK?

I would say it has not given we have now passed Italy in the daily deaths league tables.

3 minutes ago, vogie said:

I wouldn't go as far as to say I "happily dish out the attacks on party leaders in shovelfuls" suffice to say I and many other of our fellow countrymen will be relieved we do not have Corbyn, Abbott and McDonnall and indeed the rest of the red brigade in charge at such a most crucial time of our lives.

As I said tis you and the usual suspects that are in the minority on this one, whilst Boris and his party have never enjoyed such support, they have broken all records with the support they are getting.

 

 

If this has anything to do with the topic please let me know?

2 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

Understatement of the century. Hope people will remember what a mess this government made of this crisis, and how much of an impact all the budget cuts to the health services made by Tory governments have now, come election time.

 

Political hogwash!

 

Inept Labor governments started the NHS rot, pandering to unions and allowing mismanagement to expand and prosper. They then compounded things with their disguised privatization "initiatives". The Conservative governments were never in a position to reverse that at a magic stroke and many improvement attempts failed.

 

The NHS has a top heavy management structure that is incredibly ineffective and delivers little real management and produces little apart from copious statistics designed to show they're actually doing something. Years of recruiting based on politically correct and diverse criteria, promotions based on the same, all without regard to skills, qualifications, ability and suitability have led to a quagmire. 

 

Blame politicians, whatever their party, as they created the mess. Labor certainly only made it worse from Callaghan on-wards.

 

Medical staff. and the people who support them have a difficult job, which they tackle fantastically. They've been let down my Labor and Conservative governments who've chickened out of sorting out the real issues.

 

Supply chain security will become a hot topic again, as it did after 9/11. 2008, the Gulf wars etc etc. Risk management will become fashionable, all for a short time. Then it will drift back to cost saving, just as before.

28 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

The ability to observe situations which might arise in other countries, monitor how they develop and determine the effectiveness of the strategies deployed in the fight against the is surely the job of any government? 

 

But more than that - I would expect my government to model the same situation on my country and determine the best strategy from the start - but even as little as a month ago or government had no clear or agreed response. 

 

But even if they had a strategy in place, they made no effort to prepare for it. No respirators, no ppe, no plans in place to deal with what everyone with half a brain could see was coming. 

 

I am not sure that Sweden is the success story you seen to think it is. I posted a link yesterday which suggested that their death rate significantly higher than that of their neighbours. But of course, counting methods may differ across borders so it will take some time and effort to determine the most effective approach. 

 

But even if it proves to be the best course of action, surely if you are going to willingly let the virus rip through the population, you make sure that your health service is adequately prepared for that? Johnson definitely failed there. 

 

Given the time Johnson has been in office; and that this virus appeared suddenly from nowhere; and the speed at which it developed and spread; and it's resistant to available drugs; and the state of the NHS: how exactly to you believe the government should have acted to make sure the health service was adequately prepared?

 

Hindsight, of course, is a useful commodity. So please try not to use that in your response.

 

The NHS in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament but you already know that I think. So that would be Sturgeon definitely failing there.

Edited April 12, 20206 yr by Baerboxer

4 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Given the time Johnson has been in office; and that this virus appeared suddenly from nowhere; and the speed at which it developed and spread; and it's resistant to available drugs; and the state of the NHS: how exactly to you believe the government should have acted to make sure the health service was adequately prepared?

 

Hindsight, of course, is a useful commodity. So please try not to use that in your response.

 

The NHS in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament but you already know that I think. So that would be Sturgeon definitely failing there.

Exercise Cygnus clearly demonstrated the weaknesses within our integrated response agencies to deal with a major respiratory pandemic. Our government knew that this was a massive flaw. 

 

It was reported last week that US intelligence agencies identified in November last year the very real threat that Covid-19 posed to the west. If we had the same insight, why did we not deal with it then? 

 

I really don't want to get into some sort of UK p*ssing contest, but I believe that the death rate in Scotland is approximately half that of rUK. Whether we will catch up remains to be seen; while I hope not, that is not for political reasons. 

20 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Political hogwash!

 

Inept Labor governments started the NHS rot, pandering to unions and allowing mismanagement to expand and prosper. They then compounded things with their disguised privatization "initiatives". The Conservative governments were never in a position to reverse that at a magic stroke and many improvement attempts failed.

 

The NHS has a top heavy management structure that is incredibly ineffective and delivers little real management and produces little apart from copious statistics designed to show they're actually doing something. Years of recruiting based on politically correct and diverse criteria, promotions based on the same, all without regard to skills, qualifications, ability and suitability have led to a quagmire. 

 

Blame politicians, whatever their party, as they created the mess. Labor certainly only made it worse from Callaghan on-wards.

 

Medical staff. and the people who support them have a difficult job, which they tackle fantastically. They've been let down my Labor and Conservative governments who've chickened out of sorting out the real issues.

 

Supply chain security will become a hot topic again, as it did after 9/11. 2008, the Gulf wars etc etc. Risk management will become fashionable, all for a short time. Then it will drift back to cost saving, just as before.

In the meantime we have your off topic ranting to entertain us.

3 hours ago, baansgr said:

Population density may have something to do with it....but you could also try asking Spain, Italy or France the same thing

All the countries you list just woke up too late. Herd immunity was the big word. Once the herds didn't develop immunity but died... oh, now what to do. By then Covid was miles ahead of those dozy governments. 

3 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

If this has anything to do with the topic please let me know?

It was a reply to an off topic comment.

3 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Wow, if you take into consideration overall population UK death tolls are 2 1/2 times that of the US.

I wonder why this is.

The US is still catching up, unfortunately. 

3 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

Admittedly he was not in charge 4 years ago, but Exercise Cygnus was a UK government sponsored review of the nation's preparedness to cope with a pandemic. The results were stark - the UK was, then, woefully unprepared. However the report was buried and no actions taken. 

 

So that was someone else's failure that Johnson inherited, however we have seen clear evidence of the unfolding horror of Covid-19 since late last year and it seems that nothing was done about it. You don't need me to tell you how badly resourced the NHS is now - given that we had months and months to prepare, there is no excuse whatsoever for key staff to be left without proper protection. 

 

And then there is the failed 'herd immunity' concept that is much of the reason we are so badly hit. 

Any evidence is still emerging and certainly incomplete. That's part of the reason many governments erred at the start of this. The South Koreans and Taiwanese tackled it best and fastest - probably because they had better intelligence and assumed that the Chinese had a much earlier and bigger problem than was declared. As the global guiders, WHO dithered about and refused to use the pandemic classification for far too long. Now look at it - useless! 

3 hours ago, baansgr said:

First case in UK was late January with no confirmed transmissions until late February...so no real delay....as for herd community, seems to be working well in Sweden...so there are not really multiple mistakes made by Boris that have caused thousands of deaths...

I'm afraid that Sweden is not doing so well anymore.