Coventry & Warwickshire COVID-19 Portal

LATEST NATIONAL PICTURE

• The latest figures published by GOV.uk and PHE are: As of 9am on 19 March 2020, 64,621 people have been tested in the UK, of which 61,352 were confirmed negative and 3,269 were confirmed as positive, this is a rise of 643 on the previous day’s fig-ures.. As of 1pm yesterday, 144 patients in the UK who tested positive for corona-virus have died.

• The transcript from yesterday’s daily press conference hosted by the Prime Minister available here

• The latest health advice available here

• Guidance issued defining ‘key workers’ here

LATEST LOCAL PICTURE

• The latest figures published by GOV.uk and PHE are: As of 9am on 19 March 2020, there are a total of 282 cases in the Midlands. In West Birmingham and the Black Country this is broken down as follows:

o Coventry - 4

o Warwickshire - 11

LOCAL MEDIA HEADLINES

• Hospital bans kids and elderly as it issues visiting restrictions Coventry Telegraph, 20/03/2020, p.15, Madeleine Clark Coventry's hospital has announced tighter visiting restrictions in light of the corona-virus outbreak. The restrictions are in place at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire as of today (March 18), and will see limits on both the number of visi-tors allowed to see patients and the time in which they can do so.

• Visiting restrictions at University Hospital in Coventry amid coronavirus crisis Coventry Observer (Web), 19/03/2020, Unattributed Bosses at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire

restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Only one visitor over the age of 12 can see a patient. 

• Coronavirus: Myton Hospice issues urgent appeal after outbreak forces events to be postponed Leamington Observer (Web), 19/03/2020, Unattributed Myton Hospice is appealing for support after being forced to postpone fund-raising events due to the coronavirus outbreak. The charity has called off its flagship event Glow for Myton, which raises around £60,000 annually.

• Citizen launches Acts of Kindness campaign to brighten troubled times in Mil-ton Keynes Milton Keynes Citizen (Web), 19/03/2020, Unattributed A patient at MKUH is working from his hospital bed to start a 'helping hands' Face-book page where members of the community can help each other through the coro-navirus crisis.

NATIONAL MEDIA HEADLINES

• Front line Lewisham but who gets the ventilator? The Daily Telegraph, 20/03/2020, p.4, Henry Bodkin Harrowing decisions are now allegedly being faced by medical staff as coronavirus spreads around the capital. The pattern allegedly starting to emerge in south-east London was chillingly presaged last week, when the Intensive Care Society revealed it was drawing up new guidelines giving doctors greater flexibility to ration life-saving care to those with the best chance of survival. This was amplified on Tuesday by Prof Stephen Powis, the medical director for NHS England, who indicated that he would be prepared to issue new guidance to doctors giving them extra cover in crisis situa-tions such as being suffered in northern Italy.

• London hospital trust turns away coronavirus patients The Daily Telegraph, 20/03/2020, p.1, Henry Bodkin; Hayley Dixon

• REVOLT AT HOSPITAL Daily Mail, 20/03/2020, p.14, John Stevens The chief executive of a major London hospital has claimed that NHS England is blocking medical staff from being tested for coronavirus, a leaked memo has re-vealed. Doctors and nurses at King's College Hospital have been told they cannot carry out the tests - even though they have the ability - until all the nation's hospitals are ready to do the same. A senior consultant warned last night that it was 'abso-lutely beyond comprehension' that hospitals in London, which are worst affected by the virus, are being stopped from testing staff.

• 'Your NHS Needs You': Call for 60,000 retired medics to return to hospitals The Daily Telegraph, 20/03/2020, p.4, Laura Donnelly More than 60,000 retired doctors and nurses are being told "Your NHS Needs You" and urged to come back to the frontline to battle coronavirus. The Nursing and Mid-wifery Council is writing to more than 50,000 nurses whose registration has lapsed in the last three years. The General Medical Council will write to another 15,500 doctors who have left the register since 2017. Prof Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS, said: "We are calling on former staff to come back and help us." Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, added: "We are now turning to people who have re-cently left the healthcare professions who can bring their experience and expertise to our health system."

• Your NHS needs you, 65,000 former staff told The Independent Daily Edition, 20/03/2020, p.4, Shaun Lintern

• Social care Cash to clear hospital beds The Guardian, 20/03/2020, p.7, Sarah Boseley

• Social care wins £3bn in move to free hospital beds Financial Times, 20/03/2020, p.2, Sarah Neville

• PM tells retired medics: Your NHS needs you! Daily Mail, 20/03/2020, p.4, Sophie Borland; John Stevens

• NHS plea for ex-docs Daily Express, 20/03/2020, p.9, Hanna Geissler

• NHS appeal to ex-docs The Daily Express (London), 20/03/2020, p.9, Hanna Geissler

• Your NHS Needs You The Sun, 20/03/2020, p.6, Nick Mcdermott

• Hospitals only hours from having no protective gear The Independent Daily Edition, 20/03/2020, p.13, Shaun Lintern A leaked email from NHS bosses suggests the health service has already run out of some kit, with some hospitals just 24 hours away from running out of protective equipment needed to keep nurses and doctors safe from coronavirus infection. On Tuesday NHS England's chief operating officer Amanda Pritchard told MPs on the health select committee that there was enough equipment and shortages were only "local issues". In an email, sent to directors of infection control, however, NHS Eng-land revealed the scale of the difficulties in getting enough supply to hospitals.

• Healthcare workers plead for equipment i (The paper for today), 20/03/2020, p.4, Paul Gallagher

• Doctors told to keep working even if family member is sick The Times, 20/03/2020, p.14, Chris Smyth; tom Ball; , Katie Gibbons A survey of 804 doctors has found that 323 had relatives who were sick, and a third of them had been asked to work anyway. Samantha Batt-Rawden, co-founder of the Doctors' Association UK, which carried out the survey, said: "We cannot afford to have a single doctor off for 14 days of self-isolation due to a household member be-coming unwell. It is now critical that testing be extended to all frontline NHS staff."

• Delivery drivers to join police and NHS staff on list of key workers i (The paper for today), 20/03/2020, p.5, Jane Merrick The children of NHS staff, delivery drivers, teachers, police and armed forces are ex-pected to attend school under the Government's plan to keep key workers at the frontline of fighting Covid-19.

• Infected could be locked up for going outside 'Controversial but reasonable' Daily Mail, 20/03/2020, p.4, Daniel Martin Ministers will be allowed to shore up the NHS by recruiting a new volunteer army, un-der laws contained in a wideranging emergency Bill designed to give the Government huge authority to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.It foresees thousands of health workers being redrafted elsewhere in the NHS and ensures they will not be sued if they make a mistake in an area out of their expertise.

• Infected could be locked up if they go outside Daily Mail, 20/03/2020, p.4, Daniel Martin

• Hotels Plan to turn bedrooms into hospital wards to relieve NHS The Guardian, 20/03/2020, p.5, Rebecca Smithers A number of major UK hotel chains are in discussions with the government about turning their properties into temporary hospitals to provide the NHS with emergency bed space or staff accommodation as the coronavirus spreads. It follows the an-nouncement by former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville this week that he is to open his hotels free of charge to health workers. Chelsea FC owner, Roman Abramovich, is also offering to accommodate NHS staff at the Millen-nium hotel on Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium site.

• We need leadership The Daily Mirror, 20/03/2020, p.4, Ben Glaze Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a new type of test is available that can check if a patient has had coronavirus and has the antibodies in their system. Mr Hancock also sought to allay doctors' fears, insisting a "massive effort" was under way to deliver personal protective equipment to NHS staff and social care providers.

• Manufacturers team up on producing life-saving ventilators to plug NHS gap Financial Times, 20/03/2020, p.1, Peggy Hollinger Three industrial consortiums have joined forces to develop a new medical ventilator to plug a critical shortage of the life-saving kit on the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic.

• NHS given wages app Daily Mail, 20/03/2020, p.81, Unattributed Nurses and other frontline health workers can be paid immediately for their work dur-ing the coronavirus pandemic after technology firm Greensill provided its software to the NHS for free.

• Troops 'will help NHS not quell civil unrest' Daily Express, 20/03/2020, p.4, Michael Knowles Up to 20,000 military personnel are being put on standby in a new Covid Support Force and could "backfill" police counter terrorism roles, act as prison guards or help with Border Force checks. However, No10 insisted yesterday that the Army will not police the streets if law and order breaks down. Assistant Chief Constable Owen Weatherill said: "The military will probably be called on by the NHS before we need to do it".

• Troops 'will help NHS not quell civil unrest' The Daily Express (London), 20/03/2020, p.4, Michael Knowles

• NHS doctors trapped in Spain after flight axed The Daily Telegraph, 20/03/2020, p.7, Unattributed NHS doctors trapped in Spain have told of their heartbreak at not being able to return home to help colleagues cope with the coronavirus pandemic after their EasyJet flight was cancelled.

• BHA chief Rust on why the racing in Britain was suspended Racing Post, 20/03/2020, p.2, Nick Rust BHA chief Nick Rust writes: "An industry group has been working on Covid-19 for weeks now. Medical advisers from the RCA and the BHA have helped us look ahead,

prepare for the worst, and advise on how racing could continue safely while it was possible. They have communicated the extraordinary pressures facing the NHS." • Kids are delighted - but closing our schools may not be the right choice The Daily Telegraph, 20/03/2020, p.20, Fraser Nelson Comment: the NHS has just 4,100 critical care beds, of which about 3,300 are used at anyone time. With so little spare capacity, it wouldn't take much for an Italian-style overflow in the coronavirus pandemic escalates.

• 'We're clearing the decks' The Guardian, 20/03/2020, p.9, Gavin Francis Dr Gavin Francis writes about his 

experience of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Ready for the fight... NHS team on infection frontline Metro, 20/03/2020, p.8, Unattributed A team of NHS workers on the frontline against coronavirus at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, south-east London, have posed for a picture in their protective kit before starting a shift on a hospital isolation ward.

• A BIG THANK YOU! They've [...] The Daily Mirror, 20/03/2020, p.34, Unattributed An anonymous well-wisher has chalked a wonderful message of love and support to patients and NHS staff outside St Thomas' Hospital during the coronavirus outbreak.

• I Love NHS The Sun, 20/03/2020, p.10, Marta Kowalska Readers send messages of support to NHS staff during the coronavirus outbreak.

• We can all perform small acts of heroism at this time City AM, 20/03/2020, p.15, Sarah Mullally Sarah Mullally writes: "As a former government chief nursing officer, I know we have the very best minds in the NHS and Department of Health continually assessing and acting on the coronavirus situation. I know that over the coming months, life will not be easy for them - or any of us - but I am grateful for all that they are doing and will do."

• DEATH RATE DOUBLES Daily Mail, 19/03/2020, p.8, Sophie Borland The UK coronavirus death toll rose by almost 50 per cent yesterday with the biggest 24-hour increase yet. The toll now stands at 104, a daily increase of 32. The 44 per cent increase is more than double the previous day's 20 per cent rise. Public Health England is believed to be about to start early-stage testing of a number of vaccines.

• Hospitals split themselves into corona and non-corona halves Evening Standard, 19/03/2020, p.1, Ross Lydall NHS hospitals across London are subdividing themselves into separate areas in a bid to prevent coronavirus patients spreading the virus to others. Yesterday, London North West Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Northwick Park, confirmed three more deaths, meaning at least four of its patients have died from coronavirus.

• Meggitt is aiming to start building NHS ventilators within a month Evening Standard, 19/03/2020, p.35, Ben Woods Aeroplane parts maker Meggitt mett Government calls today for life-saving equip-ment with a plan to start building NHS ventilators to fight coronavirus. The company

said it was spearheading one of three consortia aiming to build a ventilator prototype by next week ahead of a mass manufacturing drive. • CHELSEA OPEN CLUB HOTEL TO NHS STAFF Morning Star, 19/03/2020, p.16, Unattributed Chelsea Football Club have opened their Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge to NHS staff to help the medical response to the coronavirus outbreak.

• Communist Party statement on the coronavirus epidemic Morning Star, 19/03/2020, p.17, Unattributed Comment: "The March 11 Budget's pledge of £5bn more for the NHS and an addi-tional fiscal stimulus of £12bn to combat the Covid- 19 crisis, and even the £330bn promised on March 17 to shore up businesses during the pandemic, still fall far short of the £l,300bn allocated by the British state to rescue City of London banks and mar-kets during and after the 2007-8 financial crisis."

• The good deeds making coping with coronavirus pandemic a little easier ITV.com (Web), 19/03/2020, Unattributed While many are being asked to stay home to minimise pressure on the NHS during the coronavirus outbreak, health workers are still heading out. At an extremely busy time for the NHS, help is needed in any way it can be given. Pret A Manger is there-fore offering free hot drinks to all NHS workers and 50% off everything else.

• Gary Neville lets NHS workers stay for free at his hotel ITV.com (Web), 19/03/2020, Unattributed Former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville will give health workers free ac-cess to his hotels from this weekend in a show of solidarity during the coronavirus outbreak.

• Emergency coronavirus legislation to be published ahead of UK school clo-sures ITV.com (Web), 19/03/2020, Unattributed Emergency legislation to tackle the coronavirus outbreak will be published in Parlia-ment after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the closure of schools and can-cellation of exams. Health Secretary Matt Hancock will table the Emergency Corona-virus Bill setting out measures aimed at slowing the spread and supporting the NHS and workers in the Commons on Thursday.

• Twenty four new cases test positive for coronavirus in Wales ITV.com (Web), 19/03/2020, Unattributed A further twenty four people have tested positive for coronavirus in Wales. Dr Robin Howe said Public Health Wales is working with NHS 111 and the welsh Government to develop systems to allow NHS Wales and members of the public to have ''appro-priate access'' to testing.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

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STATEMENTS ISSUED

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ACTIONS TAKEN

• Monitoring latest updates from Public Health England and GOV.UK

• Social media monitoring for local areas, local hospitals and retweeting PHE, NHS messages on Coronavirus advice

• Social media updated on CCG accounts with latest messages on prevention, stall well, mental health and 

wellbeing

• Content for websites, press releases and social media content being prepared for po-tential announcement on lockdown for over 70s and vulnerable people as well as ad-ditional content for mental health advice and support. Will be shared with CCGs later today for approval.

Engagement, Communications and Marketing Team

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit