Coronavirus: Isolation for over-70s 'within weeks'

Every Briton over the age of 70 will be told within the coming week to stay at home for an extended period to shield them from corona virus.

When it happens, they will be asked to stay home for "a very long time", Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

The government is to release social distancing advice for the elderly on Monday - but they will not yet be asked to self-isolate for long periods.

Fourteen more people have died from the virus, bringing deaths in the UK to 35.

Mr Hancock told the News on Earth manufacturers were being asked to help produce medical equipment, such as ventilators, to help with an expected surge in demand by the NHS, and hotels could be turned into hospitals, Mr Hancock said.

The number of confirmed UK cases of the virus has reached 1,372, with 40,279 people tested, according to the latest figures released by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Of the latest 14 patients to die, all were aged between their 60s and 90s, and most had underlying health conditions.

Earlier, 34 new cases were announced in Wales, 32 in Scotland and 11 in Northern Ireland.

A man with underlying health problems who has died after contracting Covid-19 has been named as retired police officer Nick Matthews, 59, of Nailsea, near Bristol.

His wife, Mary, paid tribute on Facebook, saying she had lost her "soul mate" and "best friend", following Mr Matthews' death at Bristol Royal Infirmary in the early hours of Saturday.

She said she and her family were "currently in isolation" until they received their coronavirus test results back; and urged people not to visit them until they got the all-clear.

Mr and Mrs Matthews had recently returned from a holiday in Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands, flying out on February 22 and returning on February 29.

People self-isolating with mild symptoms of the virus are not being tested, with the government prioritising tests for those "most at risk of severe illness".

Earlier, Mr Hancock said the over-70s and people with certain health conditions would be told within weeks they needed to remain at home, with groceries and vital medication delivered - but he did not give details about how long this would be for or when it would start.

Mr Hancock told Andrew Marr people without symptoms would still be able to visit older relatives and friends so long as they stayed two metres - or six feet - apart from them.

All the UK deaths from the virus so far have been among people aged over 60 or with underlying health conditions.

The Scottish government set out its interpretation of the strategy, saying it had no plans to isolate the elderly, but would instead "ask them to reduce social contact".

Jeane Freeman, Mr Hancock's counterpart in Scotland, said: "We don't want people who are elderly to be stuck in their homes alone not contacting anyone, with their families not able to be in touch with them and to help them".

What we're saying to them is, reduce your contact.

The Scottish government has also published its guidance that gatherings of 500 people or more should not take place in Scotland.

Although it does not have the power to call off events, it has urged organisers to "act responsibly" in cancelling large gatherings from Monday to help the efforts of emergency services.

'Start making more ventilators'

Manufacturers including car makers, weapon makers and army suppliers are to be asked to switch their production lines to making ventilators for use in hospitals treating coronavirus - which can cause severe breathing problems.

Digger manufacturer JCB said it has been approached by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to see if it could help with the production of ventilators.

The company chairman, Lord Bamford, said it was "unclear as yet" whether it could assist, but its research and engineering teams were "actively looking" at the request.

The wellbeing administrations is to stop non-earnest medical procedure and execute a gigantic preparing modified to retrain surgeons from other specialism to treat the individuals who become truly sick with the Covid-19 sickness.

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What is a ventilator?

➽A ventilator is a machine that help a person breathe by getting oxygen into the lungs and removing carbon dioxide
➽Ventilators can be use  to help a person breathe if they have lung disease or another condition that makes breathing difficult". They can also be used during and post-surgery.
➽A tube, connected to a ventilator machine, is placed in a person's mouth, nose or through a small cut in the throat {called a tracheotomy}
Mr Hancock said there were 5,000 ventilators availables at the moment, but that many times that number would be need.
Work is furthermore under way to deal with buy up an enormous number of private clinical center beds to assist NHS with restricting should it be required and the probability that empty motels may be requested has not been blocked.

Mr Hancock earlier used an article in the Sunday Telegraph to contrast the coronavirus crisis with World War Two.

He made that, disregarding the Blitz, the UK "masterminded in one monster national effort" and that the equal must happen once more.

It came as the organization's procedure was censured by specific analysts, who kept in touch with ministers urging them to familiarize more diligently gauges with handle the spread of Covid-19.

Evidently there is a smart conversation around genuine insights yet I should be totally impeccably clear, we will do what is critical," Mr Hancock said.

An emergency charge giving the organization temporary powers to deal with the erupt will be appropriated multi week from now.

Work pioneer Jeremy Corbyn has said the organization is "well neglecting to meet desires" in its organization of the erupt and urged No 10 to give "all the more clear bearing" and "much better assistance".

He requested the organization had not acted "adequately brisk" to deal with the disease, refering to stresses over the availability of NHS beds, ventilators and staff.

He said he had stayed in contact with Mr Johnson mentioning a social event and to ask what may be in the emergency authorization that will be acquainted with Parliament multi week from now.

Why and when should frail self-confine? 

Ensuring the defenseless and old will be a basic bit of the organization's strategy when cases are rising rapidly - it was one of the decisions shut down at an emergency Cobra meeting on Thursday.

Half of the general cases are ordinary inside a period of a large portion of a month, with 95% in a period of around 10 weeks.

So specialists will request those at most risk from making genuine disease to stay at home.

They acknowledge if they get the arranging right and people stick to it the move could diminish the amount of passings by up to a third.

In any case, it clearly passes on its own risks - mentally and really.

They acknowledge the longest they could move toward people to do this for is around 12 weeks or close.

That is the explanation it's essential people don't go too soon. At this moment the feeble social events should be guaranteed to a degree by the way that the humble number of people with the disease should act normally isolating.

Nonetheless, the specialists see that individuals will choose their own decisions about when to start.