Today the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK has reached 116 – with the first covid-19 related death announced this evening. Royal Berkshire NHS Trust has confirmed a patient with underlying health conditions who tested positive for the coronavirus last night has died. The number of coronavirus infections in the UK has risen by almost a third since Wednesday when there were 85 people who had tested positive for the virus.
Professor Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, has said the “direction of travel” was from the containment phase to the delay phase but the “step change” had not been made yet.
Earlier today Professor Whitty was grilled by MPs at a meeting of the Health and Social Care Committee, and warned there was “additional vulnerability” for smokers of contracting coronavirus.
The Chief Medical Adviser to the Government, as ever recommended people to stop smoking and insisted now was a good time to do it.
Professor Whitty warned smokers not to be alarmed and said they should not “self-isolate or behave in any other way differently”.
He told MPs: ”To be clear on smokers, my recommendation is that they stop smoking.
“If you are going to give up smoking, this is a very good moment to do it.
“But it is not that I’m saying they should self-isolate or behave in any other way differently.
“I’m just highlighting that as an additional vulnerability for people who are otherwise healthy.”
Professor Whitty reassured the public he had a “reasonably high degree of confidence” that one percent is at the “upper limit” of the mortality rate for the virus.
Following the news of the first coronavirus related death in the UK, the chief medical officer insisted anyone with mild symptoms should stay at home rather than go to hospital.
He said: “In the long run, to be clear if we were to get a significant epidemic our advice would definitely be stay at home.
He said: “What they are looking at in the next few days, in the near future, is what kind of measures might be necessary to retard the spread of the disease.
“As soon as they’ve decided that the moment is right to announce those, we will be absolutely clear with the public about what needs to be done.
“But for the moment things are as they have been.”