South American country closed borders a week ago in attempt to stop spread of coronavirus, stranding 400 British citizens
Hundreds of Britons stranded in Peru due to the coronavirus pandemic could be flown home early next week, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has said.
More than 400 British and Irish citizens are believed to be in the Andean nation and have been unable to leave following a 15-day government lockdown imposed since Monday.
Continue reading...Food stockpilers told they should be ‘ashamed’ as prime minister urges Britons not to make mother’s day visits
Key military officials are to help ensure food and medicines reach vulnerable people isolated at home during the coronavirus crisis, as part of a nationwide campaign to protect more than a million people most at risk of being hospitalised.
Community pharmacies, voluntary groups and food retailers are in talks with the government to ensure essential items reach people being told to remain in their home. Those believed to be at most risk are being contacted on how best to protect themselves, and being strongly advised to stay home for at least 12 weeks.
Continue reading...Intensive care audit shows sharp rise in admissions to critical care as London hospitals struggle to cope
The numbers of coronavirus patients needing life-or-death care have been doubling every three days, a report by senior doctors has revealed. London is worst affected, but the rest of the UK will soon be hit with a similar surge, the document warns.
The audit of intensive care carried out since the epidemic began shows that patients needing the highest level of help soared from 50 on 9 March to almost 200 on 19 March – and doctors fear this spike could turn into a nationwide surge within a few weeks.
Continue reading...America seems reluctant to lead in this crisis: so Europe, and Britain, must step up
Covid-19 is the biggest health, social and economic emergency we have faced since the second world war. And while we’re only at the beginning of the process of halting its spread, we will be living with the consequences for many years to come.
Our first responsibility is to save lives. That means giving our fantastic NHS staff the time and resources they need. The biggest threat to life is if hospitals are overrun – with more patients requiring intensive care than there are beds available – as we’ve seen in Italy with devastating consequences. We’re already starting to see some London hospitals really feeling the strain.
Continue reading...Vehicle pulled over by police also contained a stash of stolen handwash and other items
Three men have been arrested after police found a van full of stolen toilet roll and handwash.
Officers were alerted by a report of suspicious activity in the Essex town of Hatfield Peverel at 10.20pm on Friday. It was alleged that a van was driven through a barrier at a building site in Bury Lane.
Continue reading...For one moment 100 years ago a war widow and a plague orphan had fun courtesy of Charlie Chaplin
Gather round my skirts, children, while I tell you about the great plague of 1919. It killed my Aunt Lucy, who was not, as her name suggests, an elderly spinster.
She was young and pregnant and wore a yard of red gold curls piled on her head. To have hair long enough to sit on was considered a mark of beauty. My grandmother always blamed her husband, believing the pregnancy had killed her. He may well have brought the virus back from the front. Either way, she never forgave him. Good at incubating a grudge, my Grandma Nancy.
Continue reading...Italy deaths pass 4,000; More US states, including New York, tell people to stay home; Dow Jones falls 900 points. Follow the latest.
Boris Johnson is speaking to supermarket bosses today about how to overcome the panic buying that is gripping the UK. They will also discuss efforts to keep supplies flowing.
The meetings come ahead of the government’s daily press conference, which will be hosted by the environment secretary, George Eustice, in place of Johnson.
Scotland’s chief constable, Iain Livingstone, has warned the police will enforce the ban on all pubs, clubs and restaurants staying open — a ban he said he fully supported.
In a statement, Livingstone thanked “the overwhelming majority” of people complying with the ban. “To be clear, no public houses or other entertainment venues should be opening for patrons until further notice,” he said.
We are aware of proposed legislation in relation to COVID-19 and are carefully monitoring its progress and considering what the implications for policing will be.
In the meantime, those breaking the law will be dealt with appropriately to ensure the public is kept safe from risk and harm as we continue to police the country.
Continue reading...Kimberly Finlayson had underlying health conditions and was first British victim to be named
The husband of a British woman who died while on holiday in Bali after contracting coronavirus has spoken out about the care she received, saying he does not believe she would have died had she been in the UK.
Ken Finlayson said he was able to exchange goodbyes “for a few minutes” before his wife, Kimberley Finlayson, who had underlying health conditions, died on the Indonesian island on 11 March.
Continue reading...People from all walks of life are mobilising to support those coping with isolation
Amy Tan is preparing to burst into song with two fellow musicians on a deserted street in Acton, west London.
“We’ll do anything by Frank Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald – the Rat Pack,” she says. “Or maybe they would like a song by Elton John or the Beatles?”
Continue reading...NHS junior doctor Ed Hope has updated his YouTube channel by vlogging about his experience on the front line of the coronavirus emergency as Covid-19 cases grow in the UK, covering panic buying to specialist mask fitting.
Dr Hope's Sick Notes is a YouTube channel that usually has a 'light-hearted look at hospitals', however the doctor has got serious by looking at the NHS approach from the inside
Continue reading...The prime minister has announced that all bars, restaurants, pubs, gyms and leisure centres will have to close on 20 March as the Covid-19 pandemic continues. Johnson urged people not to go out on Friday night before every venue has had a chance to close.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has announced that the government will offer a job subsidy scheme that will provide employers with 80% of a worker’s wage up to a limit of £2,500 a month.
What are the symptoms of the Covid-19 virus, what treatments are available and how do I protect myself and the people around me from infection? The Guardian's health editor, Sarah Boseley, answers some key questions as coronavirus spreads across the globe
Rishi Sunak announces ‘unprecedented’ scheme offering up to £2,500 a month
The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced the government will pay the wages of British workers to keep them in jobs as the coronavirus outbreak escalates.
In an unprecedented step, Sunak said the state would pay grants covering up to 80% of the salary of workers kept on by companies, up to a total of £2,500 per month, just above the median income.
Continue reading...Stranded British travellers decry Foreign Office assistance and ‘exorbitant’ replacement flights
Thousands of British holidaymakers could find themselves stranded abroad, as flight cancellations, travel restrictions and lockdowns due to the global coronavirus pandemic complicate their journeys home.
As many as 100,000 tourists may still be in Spain, despite a near-total lockdown and government orders that all hotels be shut down within the week. Recent days have seen the epidemic in Spain spiral into one of Europe’s worst, claiming more than 1,000 lives.
Continue reading...It’s too early to say whether the country is united but the cracks are beginning to show
Has the national life of this country ever been transformed so completely and at such a speed? In the course of a week, the British landscape has changed and changed utterly. Once crowded streets are deserted. Schools are closed, summer exams cancelled. Football grounds are shuttered and padlocked. Theatres are dark, cinemas silent. They’ve even stopped changing the guard at Buckingham Palace – and from Friday night the pubs are shut.
The economy has juddered into reverse, set to shrink by 15% according to some estimates – a collapse more catastrophic than the Great Depression. Each day has brought news that, in normal times, would constitute an epochal, ground-shaking development but which, in the current climate, has struggled for airtime. The Bank of England cut interest rates to their lowest level since the Bank was founded in 1694, and announced an infusion of £200bn. The pound slid to its lowest level against the dollar since the mid-1980s. Meanwhile, a Conservative government has torn up 40 years of small-state, free market doctrine, first promising to spend a staggering £330bn, and then on Friday evening committing to pay 80% of the wages of workers who have had to down tools, with “no limit” on the funds available. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, did not exaggerate when he said nothing like this had ever been done before. Even hardcore socialism usually stopped short of calling for the government to take on the payroll of private sector employers. Now it’s Tory party policy.
Continue reading...Actor is suing paper over claims he was violent and abusive toward ex-wife Amber Heard
Johnny Depp’s libel case against the Sun over allegations he was violent and abusive towards his ex-wife Amber Heard, which was due to begin on Monday, has been adjourned to a later date.
Mr Justice Nicol made the announcement at the high court on Friday. “I have reached the reluctant conclusion that the trial does have to be adjourned,” he said.
Continue reading...A&E doctor Nishant Joshi has highlighted the plight of NHS staff facing a shortage of protective equipment while on the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak. Joshi, who works at Luton and Dunstable general hospital, said: ‘If we don’t have masks to protect ourselves … It’s just bits of cloth. If that’s the problem at the start, what’s it going to be like in a few months’ time?’
Continue reading...Defence lawyer says ‘scary’ pattern of allegations shows former first minister must be acquitted
Alex Salmond’s lawyer has told jurors at the former first minister’s trial that the entire sexual assault and attempted rape case is “murky” and “smells bad”.
Gordon Jackson QC, Salmond’s defence advocate, told the jury of nine women and six men in Edinburgh they had to use their “rational minds” and acquit the former first minister of all 13 charges against him.
Continue reading...Walls have been raised and societies quarantined as people enter a new reality
It should not have come as a surprise. Life had already been upended in China. Iran and Italy have been reeling for a month. And yet it still felt sudden, this week, when walls were raised across the world, entire societies were quarantined and billions of people realised they had crossed a dividing line: from life before coronavirus to after.
After weeks of governments prevaricating over whether to ban mass gatherings, close businesses or seal borders, restrictions came in a flurry. “We are at war,” announced the French president, Emmanuel Macron. But without adequate weapons to fight the virus, let alone enough hospital beds or ventilators, this was the week the world beat a tactical retreat.
Continue reading...Dawn Bilbrough, a critical care nurse, appeals to people to stop panic buying after she was unable to find basic food items in her supermarket following a 48-hour shift. She urges people to remember that NHS staff like her are the ones looking after patients and need food to stay healthy
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