UK vows to boost coronavirus testing after criticism, as officials release guidance on who to save first - CNN

"That is the goal and I am determined we will get there," said Hancock, who had been self-isolating for seven days with coronavirus.

But the new pledge came before the UK has even met its current target of 25,000 tests per day.

Hancock set out the government's order of priority for testing people for coronavirus: Patients first, expanding to NHS (National Health Service) staff and their families, critical key workers third and "over time we will expand to community."

He said the government intends to reach the target through a five-pillar testing strategy:

1. Swab testing in Public Health England labs and within the NHS in hospitals.

2. Partnerships with universities, research institutes and companies like Amazon and Boots to build new labs and testing sites across the country, to be initially used solely for frontline NHS staff and their families.

3. Blood tests designed to tell if people have had the virus and are now immune. These could potentially be done at home with a finger prick, Hancock said. The government is currently working with nine companies.

4. Surveys to find out what proportion of the population already had the virus, using an antibody test. There is capacity for 3,500 of these tests a week.

5. Pharmaceutical giants will assist in building a British diagnostics industry at scale.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to boost the country's coronavirus testing efforts after facing a barrage of criticism for screening fewer people than other nations at a similar stage of the epidemic.

The number of deaths linked to confirmed cases of the coronavirus reached a new UK high on Wednesday, the latest figures available, with 569 deaths recorded in a day, taking the total to 2,921.

Those deaths came as the British Medical Association (BMA) released new ethics guidelines for doctors that mean older patients with a low chance of survival could have life-saving ventilators removed so the machines can be given to healthier patients.

Newspaper headlines on Thursday blasted the government's failure to test more, even in typically loyal British media outlets. "Why mass testing must be our No. 1 priority -- and why we lag behind the rest of the world," said the Telegraph's online edition.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister told reporters Thursday that a total of 10,412 tests were carried out across the country on Tuesday.

A total of 2,800 NHS workers have now been tested at drive-in testing facilities, Downing Street said.

"We acknowledge that more needs to be done in relation to testing. We need to be testing more people and we need to be making progress very quickly," the spokesman said.

Many health workers are self-isolating after showing possible symptoms of the coronavirus but could return to work sooner if testing showed they were not infected.

The latest figures come eight days after Johnson asserted that the UK was "massively ramping up" its nationwide testing program, and would continue to increase the number of tests carried out each week. The Prime Minister, who is himself in self-isolation after testing positive for the virus, posted a video to Twitter on Wednesday evening in which he lamented a "sad, sad day" in reference to the previous day's death toll of 563.

He stressed his efforts to increase the country's testing capacity, as well as listing the measures already put in place to deal with the pandemic and urging people to respect the restrictions currently in place.

"I want to say a special word about testing, because it is so important, and as I have said for weeks and weeks, this is the way through," Johnson said. "This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end."

Shortage fears

Earlier in the day, Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England, told Sky News that the UK was aiming to reach 25,000 tests a day by the middle of April.

Germany's leading virologist Christian Drosten said last Thursday that his country was carrying out 500,000 tests a week.

Authorities in Spain have said they are conducting between 15,000 and 20,000 tests a day.

Meanwhile, Italy has carried out more than 540,000 coronavirus tests in total, according to its Civil Protection agency. More than 34,000 were conducted nationwide on Wednesday, the agency said.

In France, which has focused testing on those seriously ill in hospital and health workers, the number of tests carried out "averages 9,000 daily," the National Health Agency told CNN. A health minister said Tuesday that France had the capacity to conduct 20,000 tests daily.

Cosford said Public Health England was in contact with its peers in Germany as the UK seeks to step up its coronavirus testing capacity.

"We're in constant discussions with colleagues in Germany -- and other countries -- around what they're doing, where their sources are coming from, what their supply system is. Of course we need to build this further," Cosford said

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned last Wednesday that the UK did not have "sufficient testing" capabilities to identify cases, telling reporters that there was a "global shortage" of available tests.

UK health workers have also voiced concerns that personal protective equipment and some medical supplies are running low.

The government is "confident" that enough protective equipment is now reaching the medical front lines, Downing Street said Thursday.

In a positive development, a spin-off company of the Britain's prestigious University of Cambridge has developed a "rapid diagnostic test for Covid-19" which can deliver a result in "less than 90 minutes," the university said in a statement Thursday.

"The SAMBA II machines, developed by Diagnostics for the Real World, provide a simple and accurate system for the diagnosis of Covid-19 infection," the statement said. A Cambridge hospital expects to receive the first 10 machines this week, it added.

Older, sicker patients could lose ventilators

The BMA said its new guidance had been prepared for doctors who will need to make "grave decisions" about who should receive "scarce lifesaving resources" if the country's health system is overwhelmed by coronavirus cases.

"As such, some of the most unwell patients may be denied access to treatment such as intensive care or artificial ventilation," the BMA's ethics guidance note states.

"This will inevitably be indirectly discriminatory against both the elderly and those with long-term health conditions, with the latter being denied access to life-saving treatment as a result of their pre-existing health problems."

It says imposing an age cut-off would be illegal, but adds that older patients with pre-existing respiratory problems would have a "very high chance of dying despite intensive care," and are therefore lower priority for admission.

The UK government has previously warned the country's health system could be overwhelmed if strict social distancing measures are not followed.

A converted convention center in London is due to start operating this week as a massive field hospital for coronavirus cases and could soon be the biggest intensive care unit in the country.

A temporary mortuary is also being built in east London as the death toll from coronavirus in the city continues to grow.

CNN's Sarah Dean, Luke McGee, Vasco Cotovio, Barbara Wojazer, Valentina Di Donato and Ingrid Formanek contributed to this report.

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2020-04-02 18:12:59Z
52780704750383

UK vows to boost coronavirus testing after criticism, as officials release guidance on who to save first - CNN

"That is the goal and I am determined we will get there," said Hancock, who had been self-isolating for seven days with coronavirus.

But the new pledge came before the UK has even met its current target of 25,000 tests per day.

Hancock set out the government's order of priority for testing people for coronavirus: Patients first, expanding to NHS (National Health Service) staff and their families, critical key workers third and "over time we will expand to community."

He said the government intends to reach the target through a five-pillar testing strategy:

1. Swab testing in Public Health England labs and within the NHS in hospitals.

2. Partnerships with universities, research institutes and companies like Amazon and Boots to build new labs and testing sites across the country, to be initially used solely for frontline NHS staff and their families.

3. Blood tests designed to tell if people have had the virus and are now immune. These could potentially be done at home with a finger prick, Hancock said. The government is currently working with nine companies.

4. Surveys to find out what proportion of the population already had the virus, using an antibody test. There is capacity for 3,500 of these tests a week.

5. Pharmaceutical giants will assist in building a British diagnostics industry at scale.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to boost the country's coronavirus testing efforts after facing a barrage of criticism for screening fewer people than other nations at a similar stage of the epidemic.

The number of deaths linked to confirmed cases of the coronavirus reached a new UK high on Wednesday, the latest figures available, with 569 deaths recorded in a day, taking the total to 2,921.

Those deaths came as the British Medical Association (BMA) released new ethics guidelines for doctors that mean older patients with a low chance of survival could have life-saving ventilators removed so the machines can be given to healthier patients.

Newspaper headlines on Thursday blasted the government's failure to test more, even in typically loyal British media outlets. "Why mass testing must be our No. 1 priority -- and why we lag behind the rest of the world," said the Telegraph's online edition.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister told reporters Thursday that a total of 10,412 tests were carried out across the country on Tuesday.

A total of 2,800 NHS workers have now been tested at drive-in testing facilities, Downing Street said.

"We acknowledge that more needs to be done in relation to testing. We need to be testing more people and we need to be making progress very quickly," the spokesman said.

Many health workers are self-isolating after showing possible symptoms of the coronavirus but could return to work sooner if testing showed they were not infected.

The latest figures come eight days after Johnson asserted that the UK was "massively ramping up" its nationwide testing program, and would continue to increase the number of tests carried out each week. The Prime Minister, who is himself in self-isolation after testing positive for the virus, posted a video to Twitter on Wednesday evening in which he lamented a "sad, sad day" in reference to the previous day's death toll of 563.

He stressed his efforts to increase the country's testing capacity, as well as listing the measures already put in place to deal with the pandemic and urging people to respect the restrictions currently in place.

"I want to say a special word about testing, because it is so important, and as I have said for weeks and weeks, this is the way through," Johnson said. "This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end."

Shortage fears

Earlier in the day, Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England, told Sky News that the UK was aiming to reach 25,000 tests a day by the middle of April.

Germany's leading virologist Christian Drosten said last Thursday that his country was carrying out 500,000 tests a week.

Authorities in Spain have said they are conducting between 15,000 and 20,000 tests a day.

Meanwhile, Italy has carried out more than 540,000 coronavirus tests in total, according to its Civil Protection agency. More than 34,000 were conducted nationwide on Wednesday, the agency said.

In France, which has focused testing on those seriously ill in hospital and health workers, the number of tests carried out "averages 9,000 daily," the National Health Agency told CNN. A health minister said Tuesday that France had the capacity to conduct 20,000 tests daily.

Cosford said Public Health England was in contact with its peers in Germany as the UK seeks to step up its coronavirus testing capacity.

"We're in constant discussions with colleagues in Germany -- and other countries -- around what they're doing, where their sources are coming from, what their supply system is. Of course we need to build this further," Cosford said

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned last Wednesday that the UK did not have "sufficient testing" capabilities to identify cases, telling reporters that there was a "global shortage" of available tests.

UK health workers have also voiced concerns that personal protective equipment and some medical supplies are running low.

The government is "confident" that enough protective equipment is now reaching the medical front lines, Downing Street said Thursday.

In a positive development, a spin-off company of the Britain's prestigious University of Cambridge has developed a "rapid diagnostic test for Covid-19" which can deliver a result in "less than 90 minutes," the university said in a statement Thursday.

"The SAMBA II machines, developed by Diagnostics for the Real World, provide a simple and accurate system for the diagnosis of Covid-19 infection," the statement said. A Cambridge hospital expects to receive the first 10 machines this week, it added.

Older, sicker patients could lose ventilators

The BMA said its new guidance had been prepared for doctors who will need to make "grave decisions" about who should receive "scarce lifesaving resources" if the country's health system is overwhelmed by coronavirus cases.

"As such, some of the most unwell patients may be denied access to treatment such as intensive care or artificial ventilation," the BMA's ethics guidance note states.

"This will inevitably be indirectly discriminatory against both the elderly and those with long-term health conditions, with the latter being denied access to life-saving treatment as a result of their pre-existing health problems."

It says imposing an age cut-off would be illegal, but adds that older patients with pre-existing respiratory problems would have a "very high chance of dying despite intensive care," and are therefore lower priority for admission.

The UK government has previously warned the country's health system could be overwhelmed if strict social distancing measures are not followed.

A converted convention center in London is due to start operating this week as a massive field hospital for coronavirus cases and could soon be the biggest intensive care unit in the country.

A temporary mortuary is also being built in east London as the death toll from coronavirus in the city continues to grow.

CNN's Sarah Dean, Luke McGee, Vasco Cotovio, Barbara Wojazer, Valentina Di Donato and Ingrid Formanek contributed to this report.

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2020-04-02 18:01:00Z
52780701785542

UK in crisis on testing as officials release guidance on who to save first - CNN

The number of deaths linked to confirmed cases of the coronavirus reached a new UK high on Wednesday, the latest figures available, with 569 deaths recorded in a day, taking the total to 2,921.

Those deaths came as the British Medical Association (BMA) released new ethics guidelines for doctors that mean older patients with a low chance of survival could have life-saving ventilators removed so the machines can be given to healthier patients.

Newspaper headlines on Thursday blasted the government's failure to test more, even in typically-loyal British media outlets. "Why mass testing must be our No 1 priority -- and why we lag behind the rest of the world," said the Telegraph's online edition.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister told reporters Thursday that a total of 10,412 tests were carried out across the country on Tuesday.

A total of 2,800 National Health Service (NHS) workers have now been tested at drive-in testing facilities, Downing Street said.

"We acknowledge that more needs to be done in relation to testing. We need to be testing more people and we need to be making progress very quickly," the spokesman said.

Many health workers are self-isolating after showing possible symptoms of the coronavirus but could return to work sooner if testing showed they were not infected.

The latest figures come eight days after Johnson asserted that the UK was "massively ramping up" its nationwide testing program, and would continue to increase the number of tests carried out each week. The Prime Minister, who is himself in self-isolation after testing positive for the virus, posted a video to Twitter on Wednesday evening in which he lamented a "sad, sad day" in reference to the previous day's death toll of 563.

He stressed his efforts to increase the country's testing capacity, as well as listing the measures already put in place to deal with the pandemic and urging people to respect the restrictions currently in place.

"I want to say a special word about testing, because it is so important, and as I have said for weeks and weeks, this is the way through," Johnson said. "This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end."

Shortage fears

Health Minister Matt Hancock, now back at work after a week in isolation battling Covid-19, will set out plans later Thursday on increased testing, Downing Street said.

Earlier in the day, Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England, told Sky News that the UK was aiming to reach 25,000 tests a day by the middle of April.

Germany's leading virologist Christian Drosten said last Thursday that his country was carrying out 500,000 tests a week.

Authorities in Spain have said they are conducting between 15,000 and 20,000 tests a day.

Meanwhile, Italy has carried out more than 540,000 coronavirus tests in total, according to its Civil Protection agency. More than 34,000 were conducted nationwide on Wednesday, the agency said.

In France, which has focused testing on those seriously ill in hospital and health workers, the number of tests carried out "averages 9,000 daily," the National Health Agency told CNN. A health minister said Tuesday that France had the capacity to conduct 20,000 tests daily.

Cosford said Public Health England was in contact with its peers in Germany as the UK seeks to step up its coronavirus testing capacity.

"We're in constant discussions with colleagues in Germany -- and other countries -- around what they're doing, where their sources are coming from, what their supply system is. Of course we need to build this further," Cosford said

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned last Wednesday that the UK did not have "sufficient testing" capabilities to identify cases, telling reporters that there was a "global shortage" of available tests.

UK health workers have also voiced concerns that personal protective equipment and some medical supplies are running low.

The government is "confident" that enough protective equipment is now reaching the medical front lines, Downing Street said Thursday.

In a positive development, a spin-off company of the Britain's prestigious University of Cambridge has developed a "rapid diagnostic test for Covid-19" which can deliver a result in "less than 90 minutes," the university said in a statement Thursday.

"The SAMBA II machines, developed by Diagnostics for the Real World, provide a simple and accurate system for the diagnosis of Covid-19 infection," the statement said. A Cambridge hospital expects to receive the first 10 machines this week, it added.

Older, sicker patients could lose ventilators

The BMA said its new guidance had been prepared for doctors who will need to make "grave decisions" about who should receive "scarce lifesaving resources" if the country's health system is overwhelmed by coronavirus cases.

"As such, some of the most unwell patients may be denied access to treatment such as intensive care or artificial ventilation," the BMA's ethics guidance note states.

"This will inevitably be indirectly discriminatory against both the elderly and those with long-term health conditions, with the latter being denied access to life-saving treatment as a result of their pre-existing health problems."

It says imposing an age cut-off would be illegal, but adds that older patients with pre-existing respiratory problems would have a "very high chance of dying despite intensive care," and are therefore lower priority for admission.

The UK government has previously warned the country's health system could be overwhelmed if strict social distancing measures are not followed.

A converted convention center in London is due to start operating this week as a massive field hospital for coronavirus cases and could soon be the biggest intensive care unit in the country.

A temporary mortuary is also being built in east London as the death toll from coronavirus in the city continues to grow.

CNN's Luke McGee, Vasco Cotovio, Barbara Wojazer, Valentina Di Donato and Ingrid Formanek contributed to this report.

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2020-04-02 15:24:13Z
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UK in crisis on testing as officials release guidance on who to save first - CNN

The number of deaths linked to the coronavirus reached a new UK high on Tuesday, the latest figures available, with 563 deaths recorded in a day, taking the total to 2,532.

The spike in deaths came as the British Medical Association (BMA) released new ethics guidelines for doctors that mean older patients with a low chance of survival could have life-saving ventilators removed so the machines can be given to healthier patients.

Newspaper headlines on Thursday blasted the government's failure to test more, even in typically-loyal British media outlets. "Why mass testing must be our No 1 priority -- and why we lag behind the rest of the world," said the Telegraph's front page.

Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England, told Sky News on Thursday that the UK was testing nearly 15,000 people a day and aims to reach 25,000 a day by the middle of April. Only "about 2,000" frontline National Health Service (NHS) workers have so far been tested for the virus, he said.

The latest figures come eight days after Johnson asserted that the UK was "massively ramping up" its nationwide testing program, and would continue to increase the number of tests carried out each week. The Prime Minister, who is himself in self-isolation after testing positive for the virus, posted a video to Twitter on Wednesday evening in which he lamented a "sad, sad day" in reference to the latest death toll.

He stressed his efforts to increase the country's testing capacity, as well as listing the measures already put in place to deal with the pandemic and urging people to respect the restrictions currently in place.

"I want to say a special word about testing, because it is so important, and as I have said for weeks and weeks, this is the way through," Johnson said. "This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end."

Shortage fears

Earlier Wednesday, UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma said the country was looking to grow its testing capacity from 10,000 a day to hundreds of thousands.

Germany's leading virologist Christian Drosten said last Thursday that his country was carrying out 500,000 tests a week.

Authorities in Spain have said they are conducting between 15,000 and 20,000 tests a day.

Meanwhile, Italy has carried out more than 540,000 coronavirus tests in total, according to its Civil Protection agency. More than 34,000 were conducted nationwide on Wednesday, the agency said.

In France, which has focused testing on those seriously ill in hospital and health workers, the number of tests carried out "averages 9,000 daily," the National Health Agency told CNN. A health minister said Tuesday that France had the capacity to conduct 20,000 tests daily.

Prof. Cosford said Public Health England was in contact with its peers in Germany as the UK seeks to step up its coronavirus testing capacity.

"I absolutely accept that we need to build this further. There is a lot of work that is going on in order to get this testing capacity in place," Cosford said. "We're in constant discussions with colleagues in Germany -- and other countries -- around what they're doing, where their sources are coming from, what their supply system is. Of course we need to build this further."

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned last Wednesday that the UK did not have "sufficient testing" capabilities to identify cases, telling reporters that there was a "global shortage" of available tests.

UK health workers have also voiced concerns that personal protective equipment and some medical supplies are running low.

In one positive development, a spin-off company of the Britain's prestigious University of Cambridge has developed a "rapid diagnostic test for Covid-19" which can deliver a result in "less than 90 minutes," the university said in a statement Thursday.

"The SAMBA II machines, developed by Diagnostics for the Real World, provide a simple and accurate system for the diagnosis of Covid-19 infection," the statement said.

Addenbooke's Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, expects to receive the first 10 machines this week, it added.

Older, sicker patients could lose ventilators

The BMA said its new guidance had been prepared for doctors who will need to make "grave decisions" about who should receive "scarce lifesaving resources" if the country's health system is overwhelmed by coronavirus cases.

"As such, some of the most unwell patients may be denied access to treatment such as intensive care or artificial ventilation," the BMA's ethics guidance note states.

"This will inevitably be indirectly discriminatory against both the elderly and those with long-term health conditions, with the latter being denied access to life-saving treatment as a result of their pre-existing health problems."

It says imposing an age cut-off would be illegal, but adds that older patients with pre-existing respiratory problems would have a "very high chance of dying despite intensive care," and are therefore lower priority for admission.

The UK government has previously warned the country's health system could be overwhelmed if strict social distancing measures are not followed.

A converted convention center in London is due to start operating this week as a massive field hospital for coronavirus cases and could soon be the biggest intensive care unit in the country.

And a temporary mortuary is being built in east London as the death toll from coronavirus in the city continues to grow.

In a letter to residents, the Mayor of Newham Council, Rokhsana Fiaz, said the mortuary is being built in the Manor Park area because it is close to a cemetery and crematorium.

"The facility will act as a holding point before a respectful and dignified cremation or burial can take place to send a loved one on their final journey. Sadly relatives will not be able to visit the site," she said in the letter.

CNN's Vasco Cotovio, Barbara Wojazer, Valentina Di Donato and Ingrid Formanek contributed to this report.

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2020-04-02 14:25:45Z
CAIiEMTnCRmaL5PHZ30tO-GyHO8qGQgEKhAIACoHCAowocv1CjCSptoCMPrTpgU

UK in crisis on testing as officials release guidance on who to save first - CNN

The number of deaths linked to the coronavirus reached a new UK high on Tuesday, the latest figures available, with 563 deaths recorded in a day, taking the total to 2,532.

The spike in deaths came as the British Medical Association (BMA) released new ethics guidelines for doctors that mean older patients with a low chance of survival could have life-saving ventilators removed so the machines can be given to healthier patients.

Newspaper headlines on Thursday blasted the government's failure to test more, even in typically-loyal British media outlets. "Why mass testing must be our No 1 priority -- and why we lag behind the rest of the world," said the Telegraph's front page.

Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England, told Sky News on Thursday that the UK was testing nearly 15,000 people a day and aims to reach 25,000 a day by the middle of April. Only "about 2,000" frontline National Health Service (NHS) workers have so far been tested for the virus, he said.

The latest figures come eight days after Johnson asserted that the UK was "massively ramping up" its nationwide testing program, and would continue to increase the number of tests carried out each week. The Prime Minister, who is himself in self-isolation after testing positive for the virus, posted a video to Twitter on Wednesday evening in which he lamented a "sad, sad day" in reference to the latest death toll.

He stressed his efforts to increase the country's testing capacity, as well as listing the measures already put in place to deal with the pandemic and urging people to respect the restrictions currently in place.

"I want to say a special word about testing, because it is so important, and as I have said for weeks and weeks, this is the way through," Johnson said. "This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end."

Shortage fears

Earlier Wednesday, UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma said the country was looking to grow its testing capacity from 10,000 a day to hundreds of thousands.

Germany's leading virologist Christian Drosten said last Thursday that his country was carrying out 500,000 tests a week.

Authorities in Spain have said they are conducting between 15,000 and 20,000 tests a day.

Meanwhile, Italy has carried out more than 540,000 coronavirus tests in total, according to its Civil Protection agency. More than 34,000 were conducted nationwide on Wednesday, the agency said.

In France, which has focused testing on those seriously ill in hospital and health workers, the number of tests carried out "averages 9,000 daily," the National Health Agency told CNN. A health minister said Tuesday that France had the capacity to conduct 20,000 tests daily.

Prof. Cosford said Public Health England was in contact with its peers in Germany as the UK seeks to step up its coronavirus testing capacity.

"I absolutely accept that we need to build this further. There is a lot of work that is going on in order to get this testing capacity in place," Cosford said. "We're in constant discussions with colleagues in Germany -- and other countries -- around what they're doing, where their sources are coming from, what their supply system is. Of course we need to build this further."

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned last Wednesday that the UK did not have "sufficient testing" capabilities to identify cases, telling reporters that there was a "global shortage" of available tests.

UK health workers have also voiced concerns that personal protective equipment and some medical supplies are running low.

In one positive development, a spin-off company of the Britain's prestigious University of Cambridge has developed a "rapid diagnostic test for Covid-19" which can deliver a result in "less than 90 minutes," the university said in a statement Thursday.

"The SAMBA II machines, developed by Diagnostics for the Real World, provide a simple and accurate system for the diagnosis of Covid-19 infection," the statement said.

Addenbooke's Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, expects to receive the first 10 machines this week, it added.

Older, sicker patients could lose ventilators

The BMA said its new guidance had been prepared for doctors who will need to make "grave decisions" about who should receive "scarce lifesaving resources" if the country's health system is overwhelmed by coronavirus cases.

"As such, some of the most unwell patients may be denied access to treatment such as intensive care or artificial ventilation," the BMA's ethics guidance note states.

"This will inevitably be indirectly discriminatory against both the elderly and those with long-term health conditions, with the latter being denied access to life-saving treatment as a result of their pre-existing health problems."

It says imposing an age cut-off would be illegal, but adds that older patients with pre-existing respiratory problems would have a "very high chance of dying despite intensive care," and are therefore lower priority for admission.

The UK government has previously warned the country's health system could be overwhelmed if strict social distancing measures are not followed.

A converted convention center in London is due to start operating this week as a massive field hospital for coronavirus cases and could soon be the biggest intensive care unit in the country.

And a temporary mortuary is being built in east London as the death toll from coronavirus in the city continues to grow.

In a letter to residents, the Mayor of Newham Council, Rokhsana Fiaz, said the mortuary is being built in the Manor Park area because it is close to a cemetery and crematorium.

"The facility will act as a holding point before a respectful and dignified cremation or burial can take place to send a loved one on their final journey. Sadly relatives will not be able to visit the site," she said in the letter.

CNN's Vasco Cotovio, Barbara Wojazer, Valentina Di Donato and Ingrid Formanek contributed to this report.

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2020-04-02 13:34:01Z
CAIiEMTnCRmaL5PHZ30tO-GyHO8qGQgEKhAIACoHCAowocv1CjCSptoCMPrTpgU

UK in crisis on testing as officials release guidance on who to save first - CNN

The number of deaths linked to the coronavirus reached a new UK high on Tuesday, the latest figures available, with 563 deaths recorded in a day, taking the total to 2,532.

The spike in deaths came as the British Medical Association (BMA) released new ethics guidelines for doctors that mean older patients with a low chance of survival could have life-saving ventilators removed so the machines can be given to healthier patients.

Newspaper headlines on Thursday blasted the government's failure to test more, even in typically-loyal British media outlets. "Why mass testing must be our No 1 priority -- and why we lag behind the rest of the world," said the Telegraph's front page.

Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England, told Sky News on Thursday that the UK was testing nearly 15,000 people a day and aims to reach 25,000 a day by the middle of April. Only "about 2,000" frontline National Health Service (NHS) workers have so far been tested for the virus, he said.

The latest figures come eight days after Johnson asserted that the UK was "massively ramping up" its nationwide testing program, and would continue to increase the number of tests carried out each week. The Prime Minister, who is himself in self-isolation after testing positive for the virus, posted a video to Twitter on Wednesday evening in which he lamented a "sad, sad day" in reference to the latest death toll.

He stressed his efforts to increase the country's testing capacity, as well as listing the measures already put in place to deal with the pandemic and urging people to respect the restrictions currently in place.

"I want to say a special word about testing, because it is so important, and as I have said for weeks and weeks, this is the way through," Johnson said. "This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end."

Shortage fears

Earlier Wednesday, UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma said the country was looking to grow its testing capacity from 10,000 a day to hundreds of thousands.

Germany's leading virologist Christian Drosten said last Thursday that his country was carrying out 500,000 tests a week.

Authorities in Spain have said they are conducting between 15,000 and 20,000 tests a day.

Meanwhile, Italy has carried out more than 540,000 coronavirus tests in total, according to its Civil Protection agency. More than 34,000 were conducted nationwide on Wednesday, the agency said.

In France, which has focused testing on those seriously ill in hospital and health workers, the number of tests carried out "averages 9,000 daily," the National Health Agency told CNN. A health minister said Tuesday that France had the capacity to conduct 20,000 tests daily.

Prof. Cosford said Public Health England was in contact with its peers in Germany as the UK seeks to step up its coronavirus testing capacity.

"I absolutely accept that we need to build this further. There is a lot of work that is going on in order to get this testing capacity in place," Cosford said. "We're in constant discussions with colleagues in Germany -- and other countries -- around what they're doing, where their sources are coming from, what their supply system is. Of course we need to build this further."

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned last Wednesday that the UK did not have "sufficient testing" capabilities to identify cases, telling reporters that there was a "global shortage" of available tests.

UK health workers have also voiced concerns that personal protective equipment and some medical supplies are running low.

In one positive development, a spin-off company of the Britain's prestigious University of Cambridge has developed a "rapid diagnostic test for Covid-19" which can deliver a result in "less than 90 minutes," the university said in a statement Thursday.

"The SAMBA II machines, developed by Diagnostics for the Real World, provide a simple and accurate system for the diagnosis of Covid-19 infection," the statement said.

Addenbooke's Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, expects to receive the first 10 machines this week, it added.

Older, sicker patients could lose ventilators

The BMA said its new guidance had been prepared for doctors who will need to make "grave decisions" about who should receive "scarce lifesaving resources" if the country's health system is overwhelmed by coronavirus cases.

"As such, some of the most unwell patients may be denied access to treatment such as intensive care or artificial ventilation," the BMA's ethics guidance note states.

"This will inevitably be indirectly discriminatory against both the elderly and those with long-term health conditions, with the latter being denied access to life-saving treatment as a result of their pre-existing health problems."

It says imposing an age cut-off would be illegal, but adds that older patients with pre-existing respiratory problems would have a "very high chance of dying despite intensive care," and are therefore lower priority for admission.

The UK government has previously warned the country's health system could be overwhelmed if strict social distancing measures are not followed.

A converted convention center in London is due to start operating this week as a massive field hospital for coronavirus cases and could soon be the biggest intensive care unit in the country.

And a temporary mortuary is being built in east London as the death toll from coronavirus in the city continues to grow.

In a letter to residents, the Mayor of Newham Council, Rokhsana Fiaz, said the mortuary is being built in the Manor Park area because it is close to a cemetery and crematorium.

"The facility will act as a holding point before a respectful and dignified cremation or burial can take place to send a loved one on their final journey. Sadly relatives will not be able to visit the site," she said in the letter.

CNN's Vasco Cotovio, Barbara Wojazer, Valentina Di Donato and Ingrid Formanek contributed to this report.

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2020-04-02 13:24:52Z
CAIiEMTnCRmaL5PHZ30tO-GyHO8qGQgEKhAIACoHCAowocv1CjCSptoCMPrTpgU

Coronavirus: Health experts 'frustrated' by low UK virus testing - BBC News

Health officials say they are "frustrated" by a lack of progress in expanding UK coronavirus testing.

Prof Paul Cosford of Public Health England (PHE) said "everybody involved" is unhappy testing has not "got to the position yet that we need to get to".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded to criticism of the UK's strategy by hailing screening as a solution to "unlock the puzzle" of coronavirus.

It came after the UK saw its biggest daily increase in deaths - 563.

As of 17:00 BST on Tuesday, the overall number of deaths from the virus in the UK was 2,352.

Mr Johnson, who is self-isolating in Downing Street after contracting the virus himself, has faced widespread criticism over his government's testing strategy - with around 13,000 tests available each day against a target of 25,000.

Prof Cosford said testing would hit 15,000 per day "imminently" and that PHE had played its part in ensuring tests were "available to support clinical treatment of patients who need it".

The government has confirmed that 2,000 NHS frontline staff out of half a million in England have been tested for coronavirus since the outbreak began.

Prof Cosford, PHE's emeritus medical director, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the figure was "nowhere near where we need to get to but it's a good start".

But Labour's Shami Chakrabarti said the slow pace of testing showed "a lack of clarity of what the plan is and how it is going to be executed".

Sir Paul Nurse, chief executive of the Francis Crick research institute - which will soon be able to conduct 500 Covid-19 tests a day - said a Dunkirk-style effort was needed to co-ordinate smaller laboratories and increase test numbers.

"We are a lot of little boats and the little boats can be effective," he said, referring to the evacuation of Allied troops from the beaches of the French city during World War Two.

He added: "The government has put some big boats, destroyers in place. That's a bit more cumbersome to get working and we wish them all the luck to do that, but we little boats can contribute as well."

In a video message on Twitter on Wednesday evening, Mr Johnson said that increased screening would be how the UK defeats the coronavirus.

"I want to say a special word about testing, because it is so important, and as I have said for weeks and weeks, this is the way through," he said.

"This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end."

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Mr Johnson said more coronavirus testing would enable staff who were self-isolating - either because they had symptoms or shared a household with someone who was sick - to know if they were safe to work.

Antibody tests - which look for signs of immunity in the blood - could also show who had already had coronavirus and was therefore not at risk of being infected or passing the infection on to others, the prime minister said.

However, these tests are not yet ready for use and it is not clear when they will be.

On Wednesday, Dr Yvonne Doyle, Public Health England (PHE) medical director, said during Downing Street's daily coronavirus briefing that the "intention" was for testing for frontline staff to increase from "thousands to hundreds of thousands within the coming weeks".

The prime minister's official spokesman said the government was working with NHS England, Public Health England and other organisations to boost test capacity with an additional network of labs and testing sites.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has held talks with industry figures, issuing what his department said was a "rallying call" to improve diagnostic capability.

However, some NHS trusts have said they are limited in the number of tests they can carry out due to continued shortages of swabs, reagents and testing kits.

One large English district hospital in the Midlands reported it was only able to test three staff members per day due to a lack of swabs, NHS Providers said.

Another trust in the West Midlands said that while it could carry out up to 300 tests per day, a shortage of reagent and testing kit availability meant only 20 were carried out daily.

Despite there being capacity for 12,750 daily tests, only 8,630 were taken on Monday, the prime minister's official spokesman said.

As of 9:00 on Wednesday, 152,979 people in the UK had been tested for the virus with 29,474 confirmed positive.

'Game-changer' test

Meanwhile, Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge has become the first in the UK to use a new, much quicker Covid-19 test for staff and patients.

Called Samba Two, it gives a result in just 90 minutes - as opposed to the 24 hours tests currently take - and has been adapted from an HIV test by a small Cambridge technology company.

Businessman and philanthropist Sir Chris Hohn, who is helping make the test more widely available, told the BBC it could be a "game-changer" in helping hospitals cope with the crisis.

In other developments:

• Loan and credit card payments could be frozen to support those struggling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic
• British Airways is expected to announce it will suspend around 36,000 staff due to the crisis
• Some 950,000 new universal credit claims were made in just two weeks from the middle of March - the normal figure for a two-week period is 100,000
• A third prisoner in the UK has died after contracting coronavirus at HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire
• Up to 3,000 armed forces reservists have been called up to aid the military response to the coronavirus pandemic
• The Treasury is to announce changes to its emergency loans scheme for businesses by the end of the week - after thousands of struggling companies had their applications turned down
• Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has become the fourth cabinet minister to self-isolate
• NHS 111 has responded to more than 1.7 million inquiries over the past 15 days from people concerned they might have symptoms of coronavirus
• Wimbledon is cancelled and Uefa has suspended all Champions League and Europa League matches "until further notice"

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2020-04-02 10:30:00Z
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