Alok Sharma is leading today’s coronavirus daily press briefing
Sharma: We’ve been deliberate in our actions, taking the right steps at the right time.
Dramatically expanding the number of beds…to provide care when people need it most.
Sharma: The pandemic is the biggest threat our country has faced in decades but we are not alone.
We recognise the extreme disruption (the lockdown) is having on our lives…and the nation’s economy. He thanks people for the “huge effort” being made to tackle the pandemic. He thanks frontline workers and those staying at home. Also businesses for supporting their communities.
Sharma: The pandemic is the biggest threat our country has faced in decades but we are not alone.
We recognise the extreme disruption (the lockdown) is having on our lives…and the nation’s economy. He thanks people for the “huge effort” being made to tackle the pandemic. He thanks frontline workers and those staying at home. Also businesses for supporting their communities.
Alok Sharma is asked a question on whether the approach and response from the government to this crisis has been too slow.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma replies: “Increasing testing capacity is absolutely the government’s top priority. We are now at 10,000 tests a day.”
“In terms of PPE [personal protective equipment], 390 million products have been distributed.”
Prof Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England, says a “relatively small” number of tests on NHS staff are happening at the moment but there is the capacity to do 3,000 tests a day.
This will increase when new drive-in centres open, she adds.
