the new government website for up to 10
million key workers and their families
to book coronavirus tests online had to
close for a while today after it was
inundated with requests almost 50,000
people in England tried to book a test
just hours after the website launched
sixteen thousand did manage to book a
drive-through appointment or get home
testing kits the government says the
site for key workers with symptoms will
be taking more bookings tomorrow
it comes as the coronavirus death toll
climbed again 768 more people are
reported to have died with coronavirus
mostly in hospitals across the UK the
total death toll has risen to 19
thousand five hundred and six
it doesn't include deaths in the
community in England and Northern
Ireland I hope that uh sir Humes report
contains some flashing images pop-up
units run by the army part of the new
push in England to boost virus testing
the number of drive-through centres is
being expanded and more home test kits
will be sent out all to handle possible
demand from up to 10 million key workers
and their families but by mid morning
all slots bookable online for today had
been taken by eleven thousand people and
five thousand more ordered home test
kits the Department of Health apologized
for any inconvenience and said booking
would restart tomorrow with capacity
expanded Mike who's a teacher had
symptoms and wants to know if it's safe
to go to work he managed to get a test
email
I quickly logged onto the site and
selected the testing center for me it
has been really easy Mike later drove to
the testing center in Peterborough he
showed the email he'd received it was
scanned by a member of staff and the
tests went ahead he's hoping for the
result by Monday
at another drive-through center
essential workers who'd had their nasal
and throat swabs taken told us about the
process
it was the most painless easy thing to
have been done and I'm actually amazed
that there's not more people here I must
say that all the stations are empty
except mine there were two cars in front
of me and there was no one behind me so
they've got the infrastructure in them
in place they just need the people yeah
but some weren't so lucky
one said he'd logged on and been told to
expect a text within an hour but it
never came you know I would appreciate
it if after the hour then I've got the
message to say well it's not happening
today can you do it again tomorrow but
waiting the whole day and it's like
waiting for a parcel and it never turned
up the Scottish government said it was
ready to go live with a similar system
to England with laboratories like this
one in Glasgow analyzing the tests at
the Downing Street media briefing I
asked how much more testing capacity
would be provided
obviously you doubled people's
expectations to be disappointed are you
pretty confident that you can meet the
demand that is out there certainly the
next week or so we'll see how it settles
down but we're encouraged by and those
16,000 bookings online indeed 46,000
people went to the portal first thing
today there's some more slots opening up
right now as I'm speaking and there'll
be more slots tomorrow days after the
NHS has spare critical care beds even
with the Cova Deane patient numbers and
that of NHS England said there might now
be scope to restart some more routine
work which had been cancelled it looks
as if we are now coming through the peak
of the coronavirus inpatients and so
we've got a spare capacity in hospitals
across the country and that means that
as well as other critical and urgent
services we will be able to restart some
of those more routine services that the
NHS is also here to provide the Welsh
Government is also looking ahead
publishing a strategy for the exit from
lockdown
which could involve a traffic light
system moving from red with some
restrictions lifted possibly as soon as
neck
month to a green phase with very few
left in place where she is with me now
another very big death toll today almost
800 more deaths recorded in 24 hours but
there is some good news from the
intensive care units in hospitals that's
right Sophie hospitals around the
country have greatly increased their
critical care bed capacity that's
intensive care beds with ventilators
converting other wards bringing them on
the stream and of course we've got these
big temporary hospitals which have been
created as well for coping 19 patients
but there was one slide shown today at
the Downing Street media briefing that
was very interested in showing a fall in
the numbers so if we take a look at that
this is the overall number of critical
care beds the percentage occupied bike
Ovid 19 patients and you can see it's
come down in every part of the UK below
50% and actually there's been a fall of
13% just over the last week in the
number of coronavirus patients in
intensive care
so certainly heading in the right
direction and we heard earlier from so
science Stevens head of NHS England that
soon because of this fall in the number
of Kovan 19 patients more routine work
could start up again hip and knee
replacements cut rights and so on
possibly I understand in a matter of
weeks but of course there's a big
backlog to clear from all the cancelled
procedures going back over the last
couple of months
never mind the existing very large
waiting list for routine works I think
it'll take some considerable time to get
to grips with that happen thank you
almost 20,000 people have now died in
hospitals in the UK from coronavirus
among them this week identical twin
sisters Katie and Emma Davis were 37
years old and died within days of each
other
Katie was a children's nurse in
Southampton her twin Emma who had also
worked as a nurse died in the early
hours of this morning
Duncan Kennedy reports Katie and Emma
Davis were twin sisters who dedicated
themselves to life to nursing and to
each other
Emma had helped care for sick adults
Katie had devoted her life to poorly
children both contracted coronavirus
Katie died on Tuesday Emma died last
night their younger sister Zoey asked to
speak to us to convey the family's pain
they were angels on earth and now
they're angels in heaven all really
close as a family just yeah best friends
we bless left us here I think they're
never really gonna leave us they had
both worked at South Hamptons University
Hospital Emma had since left but last
night colleagues fact for the loss of
Katie not knowing that mo was to die as
well
a few hours later any of this is real
and I'm gonna wake up in a minute but
they always said that they came in the
world together so they'll go together
said they've what they've done both
women shared a home and both had
underlying health problems but the death
of twins within three days of each other
from covert 19 underscores it's
merciless relentless power to shock
can't be with my mum and dad I love with
all my heart
you can't hold anyone because I'm you're
so petrified you're gonna get it
yourself
you can't grieve properly because you
can't be with the people that you love
Katie and Emma Davis double the life a
duality of loss
that was Duncan Kennedy talking to Katie
and Emma's sister Zoey