Hero doctors post pictures showing bruised faces and exhaustion as they battle coronavirus
HEROIC doctors and NHS staff have posted powerful pictures of their bruised faces after hours wearing protective gear to treat desperately ill coronavirus patients.
They shared the images after gruelling shifts battling against the bug, which has killed 244 people in Britain alone.
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It comes after London registrar Natalie Silvey uploaded the picture of herself looking exhausted after another day on the frontline.
She implored people to be sensible and stay inside for the good of themselves, others and the NHS.
The doctor posted: "This is the face of someone who just spent 9 hours in personal protective equipment moving critically ill Covid19 patients around London.
"I feel broken - and we are only at the start. I am begging people, please please do social distancing and self isolation."
It comes as:
- Boris Johnson unveiled a wage boost and tax cuts for workers hit by crisis
- Cases of Covid-19 across the world reached 200,000
- A man became the first to be arrested in the UK for not self-isolating
- Alarming images emerged from an Italian hospital where patients are treated with bubble helmets
- China and other Asian countries are facing a second wave of deadly coronavirus
- New test will be made available to hundreds of thousands of people ASAP
- Health secretary Matt Hancock warns of second coronavirus hotspot in the Midlands
Letters to around 1.5million of Britain's most vulnerable have been sent out by the government - telling them to stay at home to save their lives.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick confirmed this morning thousands at risk of not recovering from coronavirus have officially been told to stay in for 12 weeks.
Brits have been begged to practise social distancing to stop the virus from spreading to those at risk of becoming seriously unwell.
Experts say that older people and those with underlying health conditions are more susceptible to the deadly bug, which has infected at least 5,000 in the UK.
Today PM Boris Johnson told Sun readers not to visit their mum's on Mothering Sunday, writing: "I know that everyone’s strongest instinct is to go and see their mother in person, to have a meal together, to show them how much you love them.
"But I am afraid that this Mothering Sunday, the single best present that we can give — we who owe our mothers so much — is to spare them the risk of catching a very dangerous disease.
"And why? Because if your mother is elderly or vulnerable, then I am afraid all the statistics show that she is much more likely to die from coronavirus, or Covid-19. We cannot disguise or sugar-coat the threat."
Health Secretary Matt Hancock vowed to use the nation's resources to tackle the spread of coronavirus.
He said: "The only way to think about this is a war, where we look at what the entire resources of the nation are and how we can best deploy those to save lives.
"We've got to think about how we bring all the resources of the country to get through this."
He added that everything possible was being done to avoid a peak in cases as Mr Johnson last night said he was "absolutely confident" the country could send coronavirus "packing" in 12 weeks.
Mr Johnson added British experts expect to start trials for a vaccine against Covid-19 within a month, although expectations are that a vaccine will take at least a year.
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The Queen is currently self-isolating in Windsor Castle having cancelled public events in Cheshire and Camden.
Her message to protect the most vulnerable comes as supermarkets were put under immense strain amid panic-buying Brits.
Last week, key workers who will play a role in fighting coronavirus were named including nurses, police officers and delivery drivers.
