National Medical Director at NHS England, Professor Stephen Powis says Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust “is seeing steepest increase” in number of coronavirus patients.
– More Covid-19 hospital patients now than in March
Stephen Powis NHS England national medical director says there are now more Covid-19 patients in hospital in the UK now than there were when the UK went into full lockdown on March 23.
Professor Powis said: ‘We are now having to make greater use of our third line of defence – hospital care.”
– St Helens leader: “”There is no scientific evidence we have been given that shows the areas told to close are a higher risk than others.”
St Helens Council leader David Baines said the level of restrictions and the detail of businesses which would be forced to close were “not up for negotiation” with the Government.
In a statement, he said: “Government had decided this already and were adamant that they wanted to keep education, retail and the majority of workplaces open, giving us the indication that all other settings were chosen for closure by default.
“There is no scientific evidence we have been given that shows the areas told to close are a higher risk than others.
“We still do not know the full list of businesses and settings that will be told to close.
“It was suggested in one call with senior Government officials at the weekend that pubs that serve ‘substantial meals’ may be allowed to stay open, but I can’t confirm this.”
He said leaders had asked for details on the thresholds for each tier but no details had been given so far.
