Britain passes 'terrible' milestone of 20,000 coronavirus deaths

[rooster59]

Britain passes 'terrible' milestone of 20,000 coronavirus deaths

 

A rainbow and a message supporting NHS is painted on a window of The Station pub, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Brighton, Britain April 25, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's COVID-19 death toll passed 20,000 on Saturday in what the interior minister called "a tragic and terrible milestone" as she urged people to stay at home.

 

The government is facing growing criticism over its response to the new coronavirus pandemic as the death toll rises. Britain was slower to impose a lockdown than European peers and is struggling to raise its testing capacity.

 

The country now has the fifth-highest official coronavirus death toll in the world, after the United States, Italy, Spain and France, and scientists have said that the death rate will only start to decline quickly in another couple of weeks.

 

In mid-March, the government's chief scientific adviser said keeping the death toll below 20,000 would be a "good outcome".

 

The latest daily death toll of 813 hospital deaths brought the number of people who have tested positive for the illness and died in hospital to 20,319.

 

Interior minister Priti Patel said the country was not out of the woods yet, and pleaded with Britons to stay at home as more people start ignoring lockdown advice. Data showed car usage had started to rise this week.

 

"Our instruction remains clear, people should stay at home, protect the NHS (National Health Service) and save lives," Patel told a news conference on Saturday.

 

"We know that people are frustrated but we are not out of danger. It is imperative that we continue to follow the rules."

 

TESTING TIMES

 

Britain's total number of deaths is likely to be thousands higher with the addition of more comprehensive but lagging figures that include deaths in care homes. As of April 10, the hospital toll was short of the overall toll by about 40%.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still recovering after falling seriously ill with COVID-19 earlier this month and in his absence, government ministers have been struggling to explain high death rates, limited testing and shortages of protective equipment for medical workers and carers.

 

Health ministry data published on Saturday showed that 28,760 tests were carried out on April 24. That is likely to put further pressure on the government given its target of hitting 100,000 tests per day by the end of April is just days away.

 

Asked at the news conference when care home deaths would peak, Stephen Powis, the medical director of the National Health Service (NHS) in England, declined to predict a date, but said the care sector would benefit from more testing.

 

There are concerns that limited testing could mean a slow exit from lockdown and a worse hit for Britain's economy, the world's fifth largest.

 

Earlier on Saturday, Powis declined to give a new number for how many deaths could now be expected after the toll exceeded the 20,000 "good outcome", but told BBC Radio:

 

"It will take some time, it may take many years, before the full effect of the pandemic is known in this country."

 

Striking a positive note, Powis added the NHS had not been overwhelmed in the way that hospitals in some other countries have been. Healthcare providers were now preparing to ramp up non-coronavirus treatments, such as restarting planned surgeries.

 

"As we are now beginning to see a decline, a decrease, in the number of patients with coronavirus, it is absolutely the time to start building up our services again," he said.

 

(Reporting by Sarah Young, additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Frances Kerry and Helen Popper)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-26

 

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[sanemax]

Very few people wear masks in the UK , social distancing isnt really understood .

Half the population is on lock down and the other half are all congregating together and standing on bridges all clapping together without wearing masks . 

  What the hell are they trying to do ?

Kill the virus by trying to squash it between their hands when they clap ?

The virus was probably clapping and cheering as well on the bridge..................all these lovely new people to infect 

[Henryford]

About 40% of the people who die EVERY month.

[OnTheGround]

Horrible for the U.K.

 

Just goes to show the importance of

Stay Home - face mask - Social distance.

 

[Chomper Higgot]

56 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Very few people wear masks in the UK , social distancing isnt really understood .

Half the population is on lock down and the other half are all congregating together and standing on bridges all clapping together without wearing masks . 

  What the hell are they trying to do ?

Kill the virus by trying to squash it between their hands when they clap ?

The virus was probably clapping and cheering as well on the bridge..................all these lovely new people to infect 

‘Half the people’.... ‘and the other half’

 

Methinks you are making stuff up.

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

“The latest daily death toll of 813 hospital deaths brought the number of people who have tested positive for the illness and died in hospital to 20,319.”

 

Once again, misrepresenting the death toll, by placing a caveat in the Government’s reporting criteria.

 

 

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

‘Half the people’.... ‘and the other half’

 

Methinks you are making stuff up.

 

 

Ha ha, yes , its was a figure of speech , I didnt literally mean *50 %*  :)

99 %  of people would have realised that ????

[pegman]

The Johnson regime can't even do a dead by virus count. Hopeless.

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Ha ha, yes , its was a figure of speech , I didnt literally mean *50 %*  :)

99 %  of people would have realised that ????

The goto when caught out making baseless claims.

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The goto when caught out making baseless claims.

Did you really think that I meant that 30 million British people were standing on a bridge clapping ?

  Anyway, lets not start a childish squabble because of you lack of comprehension and understanding and your desire to argue about irrelevant things whilst avoiding the main point and if you didnt understand what my point was, I wont explain to you 

[sanemax]

^ OK, I know that 30 million people is NOT 50 % of the UKs population .

No need to point that out , it was just a rough estimate and not the exact figure

[baansgr]

UK is the only country in the world still importing Covid....any idiot can fly in from anywhere in the world with no testing or isolation or anything...muppets

[RayongBudgie]

The press love to manipulate by sensationalizing (SP) the figures, especially the anti government UK media.

If they report the deaths per 1 million the UK lags well behind France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.

The UK death rate is 299 per million which I think equates to 0.0299 percent per million. If my Maths is wrong, please correct.

Also neither the UK Government or media give recovery figures which I find strange.

[Chomper Higgot]

11 minutes ago, RayongBudgie said:

The press love to manipulate by sensationalizing (SP) the figures, especially the anti government UK media.

If they report the deaths per 1 million the UK lags well behind France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.

The UK death rate is 299 per million which I think equates to 0.0299 percent per million. If my Maths is wrong, please correct.

Also neither the UK Government or media give recovery figures which I find strange.

The Government is itself reporting the number deaths (albeit once again only deaths in hospitals). 

 

The press are reporting the same data in the same format.

 

How is that in any sense manipulating or sensationalizing the figures?

 

 

[RayongBudgie]

6 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The Government is itself reporting the number deaths (albeit once again only deaths in hospitals). 

 

The press are reporting the same data in the same format.

 

How is that in any sense manipulating or sensationalizing the figures?

 

 

Simply by going by the highest number. 20000 sounds a lot more newsworthy than 299 per million. Government criticism is a lot more newsworthy than comparing to other European countries with higher rates. Belgium has nearly double the death rate of the UK 

[Yinn]

20,000 I think 2 week ago already.

 

UK only report if die in hospital. Thousands more people die already in elderly “care home”. And other place. They not test.

 

Be 30,000+ 

 

In its daily tally of deaths, UK government counts only people who tested positive and then died of the virus in hospital. But that doesn't match the number of UK death certificates that list COVID-19 as a factor.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/07/uk/coronavirus-uk-deaths-intl-gbr/index.html

 

 

RIP

Edited April 26, 2020 by Yinn

[RayongBudgie]

1 minute ago, Yinn said:

20,000 I think 2 week ago already.

 

UK only report if die in hospital. Thousands more people die already in elderly “care home”. And other place. They not test.

 

Be 30,000+ 

 

In its daily tally of deaths, UK government counts only people who tested positive and then died of the virus in hospital. But that doesn't match the number of UK death certificates that list COVID-19 as a factor.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/07/uk/coronavirus-uk-deaths-intl-gbr/index.html

 

 

RIP

I believe the report who died with the virus not because of it. Big difference in my view.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, RayongBudgie said:

Simply by going by the highest number. 20000 sounds a lot more newsworthy than 299 per million. Government criticism is a lot more newsworthy than comparing to other European countries with higher rates. Belgium has nearly double the death rate of the UK 

The number 20,000 comes from this:

 

“In mid-March, the government's chief scientific adviser said keeping the death toll below 20,000 would be a "good outcome".”

 

And then from Priti Patel (Government Minister)

 

“Britain's COVID-19 death toll passed 20,000 on Saturday in what the interior minister called "a tragic and terrible milestone" as she urged people to stay at home.”

 

You’ll find both in the OP.

 

So the press is reporting the same numbers in the same format and is making reference to a death count ‘milestone’ introduced by the Government’s chief Scientific Advisor, the passing of which was referred to by a Government Minister as “a tragic and terrible milestone".

 

All completely aligned with the Government’s own reporting, but you’re not happy because you want the press to report something that sounds like a lower number.

[Canuck1966]

10 minutes ago, Yinn said:

20,000 I think 2 week ago already.

 

UK only report if die in hospital. Thousands more people die already in elderly “care home”. And other place. They not test.

 

Be 30,000+ 

 

In its daily tally of deaths, UK government counts only people who tested positive and then died of the virus in hospital. But that doesn't match the number of UK death certificates that list COVID-19 as a factor.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/07/uk/coronavirus-uk-deaths-intl-gbr/index.html

 

 

RIP

pot, kettle, black

[RayongBudgie]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The number 20,000 comes from this:

 

“In mid-March, the government's chief scientific adviser said keeping the death toll below 20,000 would be a "good outcome".”

 

And then from Priti Patel (Government Minister)

 

“Britain's COVID-19 death toll passed 20,000 on Saturday in what the interior minister called "a tragic and terrible milestone" as she urged people to stay at home.”

 

You’ll find both in the OP.

 

So the press is reporting the same numbers in the same format and is making reference to a death count ‘milestone’ introduced by the Government’s chief Scientific Advisor, the passing of which was referred to by a Government Minister as “a tragic and terrible milestone".

 

All completely aligned with the Government’s own reporting, but you’re not happy because you want the press to report something that sounds like a lower number.

More I would like things kept in perspective. 

[stevenl]

36 minutes ago, RayongBudgie said:

Simply by going by the highest number. 20000 sounds a lot more newsworthy than 299 per million. Government criticism is a lot more newsworthy than comparing to other European countries with higher rates. Belgium has nearly double the death rate of the UK 

Then maybe tell the government to change their way of reporting. Don't blame it on the media, it is the government doing the reporting.

Edited April 26, 2020 by stevenl

[RayongBudgie]

2 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Then maybe tell the government to change their way of reporting.

Or maybe the media could actually do some reporting that is a actually positive rather than constant doom and gloom.

[Rimmer]

An inflammatory post has been removed also a post and reply in weird fonts from the same member

[saakura]

Almost 300 deaths per million population. Compare that to 0.7 deaths per million persons in Thailand. And westerners were arguing that masks were useless and Thais are brainless.

[OnTheGround]

Some countries test much more people, than in other countries.

Must be taken into consideration.

 

[Surelynot]

If you read a lot of posts, 20,000 dead doesn't really matter as most are old people.........so they don't really count. 

 

What the government should do is only publish figures for deaths in the age range of, let's say, 18 to 40...........imagine!!!

 

Things would look much better and you could justify opening up the economy TODAY.

[DD13]

Personally I don't believe wearing a mask does any "harm"

Better safe than sorry 

When this "is" over, I won't feel embarrassed to use one, especially when the pollution seasons are upon us

I believe Germany is considering introducing them, and their statistics are not so bad as others

 

[saakura]

5 minutes ago, OnTheGround said:

Some countries test much more people, than in other countries.

Must be taken into consideration.

 

We are talking about the number of deaths, NOT about the number of persons afflicted. If Thais are not testing and you believe hundreds of thousands have the virus, then their immunity to fight it must be far stronger and their treatment more effective.

[Chomper Higgot]

6 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

If you read a lot of posts, 20,000 dead doesn't really matter as most are old people.........so they don't really count. 

 

What the government should do is only publish figures for deaths in the age range of, let's say, 18 to 40...........imagine!!!

 

Things would look much better and you could justify opening up the economy TODAY.

I hope for your sake that’s sarcasm.

Edited April 26, 2020 by Chomper Higgot

[Surelynot]

3 minutes ago, DD13 said:

Personally I don't believe wearing a mask does any "harm"

Better safe than sorry 

When this "is" over, I won't feel embarrassed to use one, especially when the pollution seasons are upon us

I believe Germany is considering introducing them, and their statistics are not so bad as others

 

Agree. Also very much a cultural thing...........people generally many don't want to look different or stand out. Until there is a certain momentum behind masks in, say, the UK, they will rarely be worn.........even if they are shown to provide some benefit.