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The government has expanded
Coronavirus testing to all care home residents and staff in
England after it was revealed that there were more than 4,000 deaths in care homes related to Covid-19 in just two weeks.
According to the latest figures: 21,678 people have now died in the
UK after testing positive for coronavirus. On Tuesday, another 586 deaths were confirmed. More than 160,000 people have now tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK. Around 43,500 tests were carried out on Monday – giving the government three days to reach its target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April. As of 9am 28 April, there have been 763,387 tests, with 43,563 tests on 27 April. 599,339 people have been tested of which 161,145 tested positive. As of 5pm on 27 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 21,678 have sadly died. pic.twitter.com/eZ9lecAlpg— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) April 28, 2020 Here’s the latest: Coronavirus testing rolled out to care homes and over-65s All care home residents and staff in England are now eligible for coronavirus testing, Matt Hancock has announced as part of plans to roll out testing to millions more people.
Covid-19 tests will also be offered to all those aged 65 and over and workers who have to leave home to do their jobs and their households from Wednesday.
Announcing the move on Tuesday, the health secretary said: “From construction workers to emergency plumbers, from research scientists to those in manufacturing, the expansion of access to testing will protect the most vulnerable and help keep people safe.
“It’s possible because we’ve expanded capacity for testing thus far.”
Those eligible will be able to book a test on the government website.
The move comes a week after the government expanded testing to all essential workers and their households.
However, the testing website closed just hours after it was first opened following huge demand. Spain unveils four stage plan to return to new normal ‘by the end of June’ Spain has announced a four-phase plan to lift its lockdown – one of the toughest in Europe – and return to a new normal by the end of June.
Prime minister Pedro Sanchez announced the news as the daily Covid-19 death toll fell to 301 – less than a third of the record high of 950 in early April, Reuters reported.
The scheme to lift lockdown will begin on May 4, Sanchez said.
During the initial phase, hairdressers and other businesses that operate by appointment will open, while restaurants will be able to offer takeaway services.
In the next stage, envisaged to begin on May 11 for most of Spain, bars will reopen their terraces but will be limited to a third of their capacity.
From this point, healthy people with no underlying medical conditions will be allowed to socialise together in small groups, while family members will be permitted to attend funerals.
How
Spain moves through the stages will depend on how the rate of infection changes, the number of intensive care beds available and how the public complies with social distancing rules, Sanchez said.
Remote working will be recommended where possible until the last phase of the plan towards the end of June, when beaches would also be able to reopen with the support of local authorities.‘Almost 18,000 extra people could die from
cancer because of coronavirus impact’ – new study Almost 18,000 more people could die from cancer over the next year in England due to the impact of Covid-19, according to new research.
Delays in diagnosing new cancers and getting treatment for those who already have the disease could significantly impact survival, a new study from University College
London and DATA-CAN, the Health Data Research Hub for Cancer, suggested.
Experts looked at real-time weekly hospital data for urgent cancer referrals and chemotherapy attendances during the coronavirus epidemic and found that the majority of patients with cancer or suspected cancer are not accessing health services.
When looking specifically at England and Northern
Ireland, they found an average reduction in attendance for chemotherapy of 60% and a 76% average drop in cancer referrals for early diagnosis.
This was across three trusts in England – Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the Royal Free in London and University College London Hospitals – and all five health trusts in
Northern Ireland.
When looking specifically at England and analysing data from more than 3.5 million patients, experts estimated that pre-Covid-19, about 31,354 newly diagnosed cancer patients would die within a year in England.
But as a result of coronavirus, they found there could be at least 6,270 extra deaths in newly diagnosed cancer patients – a rise of a fifth.
When all people currently living with cancer are included, the figure jumps to 17,915 excess deaths.
Professor Mark Lawler, scientific lead at DATA-CAN, said: “We believe countries need to rapidly understand how the emergency is affecting cancer outcomes, otherwise we risk adding cancer and other underlying health conditions to the escalating death toll of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The study comes as England’s top cancer doctor urged people to get checked if they are worried about any symptoms.Mike Pence refuses to wear face mask during clinic tour US vice president
Mike Pence chose not to wear a face mask during a tour of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, an apparent violation of the world-renowned medical centre’s policy requiring them.
Video feeds show Pence did not wear a mask when he met a Mayo employee who has recovered from Covid-19 and is now donating plasma, even though all other people in the room appeared to be wearing one.
He was also without a mask when he visited a lab where Mayo conducts coronavirus tests.
Pence was also the only participant not to wear a mask during a round-table discussion on Mayo’s coronavirus testing and research programmes.
Mayo tweeted that it had informed the vice president of its mask policy before his arrival, but the tweet was later removed.
But Pence said he had decided not to wear a mask because he was being tested frequently for the virus.
“As vice president of the
United States I’m tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus,” he said.
“And since I don’t have the coronavirus, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible healthcare personnel, and look them in the eye and say ‘Thank you’.”Health workers stand up to anti-lockdown
protesters in North Carolina Health care workers in North Carolina have held a counter-demonstration against protesters demanding that the state is re-opened amid the coronavirus pandemic. About a dozen nurses, doctors and other health care workers, wearing scrubs and masks, stood outside the State Archives of North Carolina in Raleigh with their arms crossed.
Some carried signs reading “Stay Home For ME” and “I Can’t Believe I Have to Show Up Here Too.”
They stood in a formation that allowed them to practice social distancing.
Across the street, hundreds of ‘ReOpen NC’ protesters crowded together for the third time in as many weeks, once again demanding that governor Roy Cooper reopen the state’s
economy during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Cooper announced last week that the state’s stay-at-home order had been extended into May.
These protesters carried signs promoting debunked conspiracy theories about coronavirus, which has already infected over 1 million people and killed over 57,000 in the U.S. alone.
There have been over 9,500 reported cases of COVID-19 in North Carolina, according to state health officials, resulting in over 340 deaths.
One of ReOpen NC’s lead organizers, Audrey Whitlock, revealed this week that she had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The protesters also heckled and harassed the health care workers ― front-line workers in the fight against both COVID-19 and a right-wing campaign to downplay the dangers of the virus ― who remained silent and stoic.
The UK – which has seen most of the public comply with lockdown rules – has not seen the same kind of
protests. Read more here. BAME community groups struggle to stay afloat amid the coronavirus Vital voluntary groups that provide a lifeline for vulnerable people are battling for cash and resources while the largely Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities they serve are disproportionately hit by the coronavirus crisis.
It is virtually impossible to fundraise but demand is soaring for the services of groups such as the Sickle Cell Society and Southall Black Sisters.
The coronavirus outbreak is already claiming BAME lives at a rate that far outstrips their proportion of the
British population. Figures released by NHS England show Black people accounted for 5.8% of coronavirus deaths in England up to April 17, compared with 3.5% of the population.
Jabeer Butt OBE, chief exec of the Race Equality Foundation, told HuffPost UK BAME voluntary sector organisations were “often the most trusted and valued” services for their users – but were being hampered in their efforts to help during this latest crisis.
“From the evidence that we have been able to gather,” he said, “the already fragile black and minority ethnic-led voluntary sector has attempted to transform their offer of support, but are constrained by limited resources and a lack of digital infrastructure.” Read more about it here. Related... BAME Community Groups Battle To Stay Afloat As Coronavirus Sees Demand Soar Coronavirus: Everyone In Care Homes To Get Tests – Even If They Don’t Have Symptoms Will Rising Elderly Deaths Force Politicians To Finally Sort Our Social Care Crisis?