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Day 6: Key points from today's conference

Posted on March 2020 By Jamie Southwell

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Environment Secretary, George Eustice was hosting today's conference at Downing Street, with him were Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, and The Medical Director of NHS England, Steve Powis. It was shorter than the previous days, but quick to the point, they emphasised heavily on the fact the general public needs to stop panic buying, stating that they should be "ashamed".

The National Health Service has finally secured a major deal with independent hospitals in increasing their capacity for more beds due to the on-going pandemic. "The deal - the first of its kind ever - includes the provision of 8,000 hospital beds across England, nearly 1,200 more ventilators, more than 10,000 nurses, over 700 doctors and over 8,000 other clinical staff."

Key points to take away from today's speech are:

  • "Be responsible when you shop, and think of others". With the current demand for food during this isolation period, George Eustice urges us to consider Doctors, Nurses, and NHS support staff, when purchasing bulk amount of items to store for future periods.

  • Professor Stephen Powis reiterated just how important it is for people to avoiding social contact right now. "It's not for somebody else to follow, it's for you to follow, it's for me to follow, it's for everybody to follow."

There are now a total of 4,094 cases currently within the UK, and a jump of 3 deaths since yesterday. The UK is the 10th country with the most cases right now, but we could begin to see that slowly decline with the recent closure of pubs, clubs, and restaurants. Globally there are a total of 297,457 cases, with 12,777 deaths and 94,584 recoveries.

To read a brief summary of last night's points and important measures click here.

Here's the full conference, courtesy of BBC: