Today's briefing is fronted by Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and he's joined by deputy chief medical officer for England, Dr Jenny Harries, and the medical director of NHS England Stephen Powis.
Michael Gove reveals that 143,186 people in the UK have now been tested for Covid-19 with 25,150 tested positive. Yesterday saw the highest 24 hour increase in the number of deaths with 381 people dying bringing the total number of deaths in the UK to 1,789.
Mr Gove also told the briefing that The Government are doing all they can to increase the testing capacity and are working with companies across the world to get the material including the chemical reagents, needed to increase the tests. He also revealed that there are just 8,000 ventilators deployed in NHS hospitals at the moment but they are buying more from EU nations as well as developing new sources of supply at home. This weekend the first few thousand new ventilator devices will be completed on the production lines in the UK and they will be delivered to the NHS next week and from there they will be delivered to the frontline. The Government will also be increasing the ability to provide oxygen to patients at earlier stages of the disease to stop deterioration. Michael Gove also said they are conducting rapid clinical trails on drugs to treat the disease.
Stephen Powis said that eveybody in the country should play their part in social distancing to reduce transmission of the disease to take the pressure off the NHS and that we can't be complacent.
Mr Gove also revealed that new services involving the RAF are now helping patients by speeding up medical transport. These will be based in Murray, Scotland, RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire and the south will be served by a helicopter facility at RAF Benson in South Oxfordshire.
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