News from the BBC – COVID-19

Coronavirus: Isolation for over-70s ‘within weeks’
Every Briton over the age of 70 will be told “within the coming weeks” to stay at home for an extended period to shield them from coronavirus, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says.

He told the BBC the advice will not come into force just yet but when it does it will last “a very long time”.
The government has faced pressure to do more to tackle the epidemic after the UK death toll rose to 21 on Saturday.

All deaths so far have been of people over 60 or with underlying conditions.
Over-70s – and younger people with certain health conditions – will need to remain at home and have groceries and vital medication delivered, the health secretary said.

Mr Hancock said people without symptoms would be able to visit older relatives and friends as long as they stayed two metres – or six feet – apart from them.
He said the NHS did not have enough ventilator machines to treat the numbers of people likely to become critically ill with the virus and said the government was urging a wartime-like response from manufacturers to produce them.

Car manufacturers, weapon makers and army suppliers will be asked to change their production lines to make ventilators.

The health service is to stop non-urgent surgery and implement a huge training programme to retrain medics from other specialisms to treat those who become seriously ill with the Covid-19 disease.
Hotels could be requisitioned to increase hospital bed space with retired doctors and nursing staff asked to go back to work.

“We will stop at nothing to fight this virus and I think people have got the impression otherwise,” Mr Hancock said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51895873