Coronavirus live: UK expert warns hospitals to prepare for more cases; India approves AstraZeneca vaccine - latest updates

A nurse at the Whittington hospital in north London has told of the “unbearable” conditions in their hospital as Covid-19 patient numbers continue to rise.

The nurse described patients being left in corridors, with some spending up to three hours in ambulances because of a lack of beds and one being left without oxygen when their cylinder ran out.

Speaking anonymously, they told PA media: “I’m worried about patient safety because if these little things are happening now when we’re short and it’s busy, it’s only going to get worse.”

A spokesperson from Whittington Health said:

Whilst we do not comment on anonymous claims, we take these allegations very seriously. Like the whole NHS, Whittington Health is currently experiencing pressure as a result of a rapid increase in Covid-positive patients. However, the safety of our patients remains our top priority and our staff are working tirelessly to ensure that we can continue to provide safe, effective and compassionate care to those who require it.

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/kentucky-vs-nc-state-2021-live-stream-free-gator-bowl/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/gator-bowl-2021-live-free-watch-online/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/freekentucky-vs-nc-state-live-stream-gator-bowl-2021/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/indiana-vs-ole-miss-2021-live-stream-free-ncaaf/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/outback-bowl-2021-live-free-indiana-vs-ole-miss-ncaa-game/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/fiesta-bowloregon-vs-iowa-state-live-free-college-football-game-2021/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/fiesta-bowl-2021-live-free-ncaaf-game/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/oregon-vs-iowa-state-2021-live-free-college-football-game-2021/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/free-oregon-vs-iowa-state-live-fiesta-bowl-2021/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/35th-outback-bowl-live-free-indiana-vs-ole-miss-2021-ncaaf/

In England, a further 383 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 51,051.

Patients were aged between 27 and 100 years old. All except 11 (aged 36 to 95 years old) had known underlying health conditions.

Increased socialising around Christmas - and not a new Covid variant - has driven Ireland’s rapid transformation from having the lowest infection rate in the European Union to the fastest rate of deterioration, according to health officials.

Ireland’s top virologist, Cillian De Gascun, said late on Friday laboratories had found 16 instances of the variant, discovered in neighbouring Britain, from a sample of 169 positive cases, Reuters reports.

Philip Nolan, the head of Ireland’s Covid-19 modelling group, said the following day that he believed the variant represented between 5% and 17% of the current prevalence.

Nolan told national broadcaster RTE:

Right now we believe the UK variant is here at a relatively low level, even with that small sample... We saw an even more intense level of socialisation and viral transmission over Christmas than we might have expected and that’s what’s leading us to the really precarious position we’re in now.

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/kentucky-vs-nc-state-2021-live-stream-free-gator-bowl/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/gator-bowl-2021-live-free-watch-online/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/freekentucky-vs-nc-state-live-stream-gator-bowl-2021/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/indiana-vs-ole-miss-2021-live-stream-free-ncaaf/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/outback-bowl-2021-live-free-indiana-vs-ole-miss-ncaa-game/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/fiesta-bowloregon-vs-iowa-state-live-free-college-football-game-2021/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/fiesta-bowl-2021-live-free-ncaaf-game/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/oregon-vs-iowa-state-2021-live-free-college-football-game-2021/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/free-oregon-vs-iowa-state-live-fiesta-bowl-2021/

https://indianapolisrecorder.com/event/35th-outback-bowl-live-free-indiana-vs-ole-miss-2021-ncaaf/

 

 

 

 

 

He added that cases could peak anywhere between 3,000 to 6,000 a day and Ireland was set to report more than 3,000 cases on Saturday, a near doubling of its daily record.

Hi everyone, I am back on the blog now until 4pm. In case you missed it earlier, please feel free to get in touch on Twitter if you have any story tips.
Facebook
Twitter

2h ago 13:49

The GMB, the union for school support staff, has called on the UK education secretary, Gavin Williamson, to postpone the reopening of all schools in England until appropriate safeguards can be put in place.

In a statement released on Saturday, the GMB said the continued differing arrangements across higher tiers was a “dangerous recipe for chaos” and was causing additional stress for parents, pupils and school staff.

Stuart Fegan, the GMB’s national officer, said:

    Gavin Williamson is at sixes and sevens over the re-opening of schools. His shambolic approach is a recipe for chaos and danger. It’s causing huge stress.

    As infection rates rise, we need a consistent approach, not a postcode lottery. The education secretary now needs to apply some common sense, make a full U-turn, and delay re-opening all schools in England until proper safeguards are in place.

Updated at 2.04pm GMT
Facebook
Twitter

2h ago 13:44

Mattha Busby

Officials have defended England’s vaccine regimen after details of a contingency plan to potentially mix the two approved jabs in small numbers of cases emerged.

Public Health England’s Covid “green book” recommends that “it is reasonable to offer one dose of the locally available product to complete the schedule” if the same vaccine used for the first dose is not available. But it adds: “There is no evidence on the interchangeability of the Covid-19 vaccines although studies are under way.”

Criticism erupted following the publication of a New York Times report which quoted virologist Prof John Moore, from Cornell University in the US, who said “there are no data on this idea whatsoever” and that British officials “seem to have abandoned science completely now and are just trying to guess their way out of a mess”.

The American infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said on Friday he did he not agree with the UK’s approach of delaying the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

On Friday, Dr Fauci told CNN that the United States would not be following in the UK’s footsteps and would follow Pfizer and BioNTech’s guidance to administer the second dose of its vaccine three weeks after the first.