for the second consecutive day the daily
death toll from coronavirus in the UK
has risen by more than nine hundred
yesterday the country recorded Europe's
highest daily number of deaths yet it
came as the British Medical Association
issued a stark warning that supplies of
protective clothing for health workers
were in some areas at dangerously low
levels
the Home Secretary Priti Patel said she
was sorry if people feel they've been
failings in NHS protective kit
describing the pandemic as unprecedented
917 people have died in hospital in a 24
hour period but that number doesn't
include people who've died from
coronavirus in care homes or in the
community it brings the total number of
deaths in hospital to nine thousand
eight hundred and seventy five here's
our science editor David Chapman a human
cost on a scale unimaginable even a few
short weeks ago and the warning is that
were not through it yet that more
families like that of Doreen Hunt who
was buried last week will suddenly find
themselves in the grip of kovat 19 the
risk is real me and my mum were actually
speaking about this three four weeks ago
we didn't realize how hard it was going
to hit our family obviously and we all
thought it would be someone else but
we've been hit with it and people need
to realize this is real listen to what
you're being asked to do and put their
measures in place stay at iron among the
casualties a growing number of NHS staff
dying after working on the front line
fueling demands for more personal
protective equipment PPE we spoke to a
nursing practitioner who doesn't want us
to use his name we've got a lot of PPE
in the beginning but now because we're
running out they've changed the policy
and ascending us in with Kovac patients
with just a surgical mask only before we
used to wear a gown now they're asking
us to go inside with just an apron we're
scared we're seeing colleagues pass away
every day we're on the frontline and we
don't deserve it we don't deserve it we
need more
and this email from Kingston hospital
talks of a national shortage of gowns
saying we anticipate reaching the end of
our supply of disposable gowns by
tomorrow
reusable gowns will be issued and staff
are asked to name and keep them and to
wash them down the government has said
it is providing huge quantities of
equipment the health secretary Matt
Hancock has suggested that staff might
be wasting it and he also questioned
where the victims became infected the
work is going on to establish whether
they caught corona virus in the line of
duty whilst at work or whether like so
many other people in in the rest of
their lives it's it's obviously quite
difficult sir to work that out but
research by the British Medical
Association shows more than half of
doctors working in high-risk
environments said they were short of
face masks all had none available around
two thirds said they didn't have eye
protection and more than half said they
were being pressured into working in a
high-risk area despite not having the
adequate gear to protect them doctors
are also human beings they they they
don't want to become ill they don't want
their lives to be at risk and what is
really worrying us is the numbers of
health care workers who have tragically
died so doctors are naturally afraid but
the one thing is important is to give
them the protection and that's something
the government owes us so at today's
government briefing ministers and
officials were repeatedly pushed on when
there'd be enough personal protective
equipment it's absolutely critical that
we get PPE out to all those working at
the front line so that they not only are
protected but they feel safe would it be
possible to give a commitment to a date
by when the right quantities will reach
the right people because every day we
hear from certainly NHS frontline staff
that they don't have the equipment that
they need there is a clear plan we're
working with not just surprised with
manufacturers to really bolster and
boost the supply that we need for PPA
people
which quite frankly is unprecedented
during this crisis this question is
bound to keep coming up as long as
health workers and many others feel
they're not getting the support they
need as the outbreak continues David
truck Mont BBC News
well I'm joined now by our health
correspondent Nora Foster Laura the
number of people dying every day is
miserably high what was the assessment
at the briefing today of where we are in
this crisis huge numbers and horrible to
see and especially when we know there
will be more to come in the following
days but there were charts shown at this
afternoon's government press conference
which suggest things are changing in the
UK so the first chart shows the number
of people in hospital being treated for
kovat 19 it's about 20,000 cases in
hospital right now and we've identified
the areas with the most cases London the
Midlands the Northwest and the
northeastern Yorkshire you'll notice
there was a little bit of a drop around
the 9th of April that's because the
government said they didn't get data
from all the hospitals but when you look
at the big picture the government points
out the line is now starting to plateau
in most regions that is promising the
next graph is the number of coronavirus
related deaths for a number of countries
you can see the UK's total is just under
10,000 so not as high as the USA or
Spain but still awful and some people
might worry we now appears to be on a
similar trajectory to Italy which we've
all seen pictures of over the last few
months but the government's confident
that over the next few weeks the
benefits of the UK locked down which
started nearly three weeks ago will
really start to kick in and that will
mean that that straight line starts to
bend and that will mean fewer people
dying from this virus okay many thanks
correspondent Laura foster they're more
than a thousand people have been fined
for failing to stick to the rules on
social distancing across England and
Wales details were revealed at the daily
news conference by the head of the
national police chiefs Council
the Home Secretary announced that more
funding for support groups which help
the victims of domestic abuse will
happen our home affairs correspondent
Tom Symons reports
day after day the same demand of the
British people some experts are
surprised at how rigorously we've stuck
to the new rules of life in lockdown but
technically that's not allowed and even
this sort of exercise is likely to
prompt questions the police had been
told to engage explain encourage and if
necessary enforce 1084 people have been
fined in 37 forces so far but it does
seem to be working there are some gray
areas but for the most part you know I
think definitely there's been a decrease
in people that are asking about the
first police officer to attends the
daily briefing said this was a new world
for the public but also the police they
have new responsibilities they are
tackling new risks the streets are empty
businesses are closed as we all adapt to
a new way of life but much does remain
the same officers are still out in their
communities
fighting crime protecting victims and
tackling anti-social behavior of course
enforcing this is not the only thing the
police have to do even now lockdown has
changed everything including crime and
today we heard that the number of
offenses reported to police has fallen
by 21 percent compared to the same time
last year but there's now a big worry
that crime has moved into our homes
after the BBC broadcast this report
about domestic violence during the
lockdown a national hotline reported a
120 percent increase in calls the
government spending 2 million pounds on
improving services for victims but it's
also an area police will have to
prioritize along with patrolling the
parks Tom Symons BBC news well there's
news tonight about the Prime Minister
I'm joined now by our political
correspondent have been right Ben what
have you learned or Rita the Prime
Minister continues to get better but
it's clear that his convalescence is
going to take some time Boris Johnson
was
very seriously ill he was in intensive
care and I'm told is now telling friends
that his life was saved by the medical
team at San Thomas's hospital now a
number-10 a very reluctant to talk about
a timeframe here in terms of when he
might leave hospital or be back at his
desk but I think it's unlikely he's
going to be back at work within the next
fortnight or so and colleagues and
doctors are telling him he must take his
time to recover properly now he remains
the prime minister of course but for the
moment it's the foreign secretary
Dominic Robb who's in charge of the
day-to-day running of the government and
of course this is a critical moment as
the government navigates its response to
the corona virus pandemic and in the
next few days it needs to decide whether
or not to extend the lockdown further at
the moment all the indications are that
that will be extended but that decision
is going to be made with Dominic Raab in
charge ok been many things been right