June 05, 2020
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Hospital Staff, Outpatients And Visitors Must Wear Face Coverings, Matt Hancock Says
All hospital staff, outpatients and visitors must wear face coverings from June 15, Matt Hancock has announced.
The health secretary said those who work in hospital are more likely to catch Coronavirus and so all NHS England staff will need to wear type one or two surgical masks at all times.
It comes after the government made face coverings compulsory on public transport from June 15 as part of efforts to keep the epidemic at the lower levels achieved by the lockdown.
He told the daily Downing Street briefing: “As the NHS reopens right across the country it’s critically important to stop the spread between staff, patients and visitors too.
“So today we are setting out that all hospital visitors and outpatients will need to wear face coverings.
“One of the things that we have learnt is that those in hospital, those who are working in hospital, are more likely to catch coronavirus whether they work in a clinical setting or not.
“And so to offer even greater protection we are also providing new guidance for NHS staff in England, which will come into force again on June 15, and all hospital staff will be required to wear type one or two surgical masks.”
He added: “We’re upgrading this guidance to make sure that even as the virus comes under control [...] our hospitals are a place of care and safety.”
Hancock meanwhile contradicted modelling from Public Health England and Cambridge University which suggested the infection, or R, rate of Covid-19 had climbed to one or above in the north-west (1.01) and south-west (1), meaning that the epidemic is likely to grow in those areas.
He insisted the government’s own scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) said R was below one in all regions, meaning the epidemic will shrink, and urged people to consider the infection rate “in the round”.The health secretary, who was unusually appearing without government scientists or medics, said: “You’re right that the R is closer to one in the south-west and in the north-west. The advice from Sage is that R is below one in all regions.
“However, we want to increasingly have an approach in tackling local lockdowns where we spot a flare-up.
“We’ve been doing this over the last few weeks – for instance, there was a flare-up in Weston-super-Mare which we successfully got under control.”
Hancock also said the R rate was not different in health and social care settings compared with the wider population.
He said the  introduction of face coverings was designed to “cut out” infections originating in hospitals.
“In terms of the R rate, of course there is a higher incidence of new cases among health staff and social care staff – that has shown up in all of the studies.
“But that is not rising as a proportion and that implies that there isn’t a different R, so to speak, in health and social care.
“But the measures that you take in the NHS and in social care are different, hence we have a whole package of work to bear down on the disease in social care, and at the same time a huge package of work that’s being undertaken by the NHS in order to get the transmission of coronavirus in hospitals right down.”Related... Matt Hancock Asks Public Not To Attend Black Lives Matter protests Amid Covid-19 Threat How To Go To A Black Lives Matter Protest During The Coronavirus Lockdown Sadiq Khan Defends Met Police's 'Massive Progress' On racism, But Admits There's More To Do
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Ruby Franke’s Husband REVEALS Alleged Rules He Had to Follow at Home | E! News
March 28, 2024
_mU-3lE2QwI
#KenanThompson speaks out following the #QuietonSet documentary. (🎥: Tamron Hall Show) #shorts
March 28, 2024
8AGP-Gfw_Ek
King Charles Shares "Great Sadness" at Missing Royal Appearance | E! News
March 28, 2024
lyizFqf1kQY
Martha Reeves Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 27, 2024
QzyezumEPtQ
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
Montell Jordan Dishes On Young MC Wedding, 'This Is How Date Night' Plans | TMZ
March 28, 2024
G3SMExj-qio
Davina Potratz Says TV Not Helping 'Selling Sunset' Relationship Woes | TMZ
March 28, 2024
D4piy4GNm4k
Logan Paul Rips Graham Bensinger Over Documentary, You Promised Apple TV+ | TMZ Live
March 28, 2024
NiSDpZhZklQ
Prince William pinned royal medal to Spice Girl Mel B’s boobs #shorts
March 28, 2024
O1cQ0UW9pco
Jennifer Garner shares ‘hard’ part of raising her and Ben Affleck’s kids
March 28, 2024
3Q7mZaVUdgc
50 Cent's ex Daphne Joy named as an alleged sex worker in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuit #shorts
March 28, 2024
yhLFI8DG9rM
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
PSG W - Hacken W
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Barcelona W - SK Brann W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Chelsea W - Ajax W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Lyon W - SL Benfica W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.