UK faces 'significant period' under lockdown measures amid 'very concerning' rise in deaths, says Gove

Read our live updates on coronavirus HERE Coronavirus: The symptoms
David Child29 March 2020

The UK must ready itself to remain in lockdown for a "significant period" of time as the death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to soar, Michael Gove has warned.

Speaking on Sunday on the BBC's Andrew Marr programme via video link, the Cabinet Office minister said the peak of the coronavirus outbreak is dependent on people’s actions and refused to be drawn on an exact date for the lifting of current restrictions.

The Government had previously said it was committed to reviewing the lockdown in three weeks and relaxing it if possible.

Meanwhile, the number of people who have died with the virus in the UK has now reached 1,228 - an increase of 209 since Saturday.

"Everyone is making a sacrifice and I appreciate the scale of that sacrifice," Mr Gove said.

"But the reason all of us are making these sacrifices is because all of us will have people whom we love who are at risk from this virus.

"I can’t make an accurate prediction, but everyone does have to prepare for a significant period when these measures are still in place."

Mr Gove also admitted the Government was "very concerned" by the spiralling rise in coronavirus deaths.

The Cabinet Office minister said there had been "communication confusion" amid the crisis after the Government missed the deadline to join an EU scheme to get extra ventilators - a critical piece of equipment in the fight to prevent Covid-19 deaths.

Downing Street earlier this week said the UK had decided to pursue its own scheme rather than joining the EU’s procurement scheme.

However, a No 10 spokesman explained that officials did not get emails inviting the UK to join and it could join future schemes.

Commenting on the developments, Mr Gove said he had spoken to senior NHS figures who had reassured him "there is nothing that we can’t do as an independent nation that being part of that scheme would have allowed us to do".

There are currently more than 8,000 ventilators available to NHS patients. The government has ordered an additional 8,000 units to boost existing stocks, which are expected to be delivered in the coming weeks.

In other key developments:

  • Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned in a letter to UK households that "things will get worse before they get better" and reiterated people must stay at home in order to "protect the NHS and save lives"
  • Mr Gove said Covid-19 testing for NHS staff and those working in social care was the "absolute top priority" for the Government
  • He added that supermarket staff, prison officers and workers in other areas of the public sector will also be tested
  • Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair said that a point will need to be reached where a "very large" proportion of the entire UK population is tested for coronavirus
  • More than 750,000 people have now volunteered to help the NHS combat Covid-19

Mr Gove's comments came after the Government announced that Boris Johnson had written to every UK household urging them to comply with the lockdown rolled out by the Prime Minister on Monday.

The Prime Minister, who is self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus, wrote in his letter that stricter restrictions could be put in place if required.

Under the current measures, people are permitted to leave their homes to exercise, buy basic necessities such as food and medicine "as infrequently as possible" and access medical help or provide care to a vulnerable person - provided they keep at least two metres apart from anyone they do not live with.

"We will not hesitate to go further if that is what the scientific and medical advice tells us we must do," Mr Johnson wrote.

"It's important for me to level with you - we know things will get worse before they get better," he added.

"But we are making the right preparations, and the more we all follow the rules, the fewer lives will be lost and the sooner life can return to normal."

As part of the Government's efforts, Covid-19 tests for frontline NHS staff have been trialled over the weekend ahead of a wider roll-out.

A batch of 10,000 tests was carried out on Saturday, which Health Secretary Matt Hancock said put the UK "ahead of schedule" to reach its target of 25,000 tests a day.

Calls have grown in recent days for much more extensive testing, however, with practising medic and Labour MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan saying it was "absolutely urgent" that health workers had access to testing "immediately".

"These are the people who are at the frontline, these are people who need to know whether or not they have the virus or not," she told Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday via video link.

"It is absolutely urgent that NHS and care staff are tested and they have access to testing immediately."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in