'PLAY YOUR PART'
Chief nurse begs YOU to stay at home or more brave NHS heroes will make ‘ultimate sacrifice’
BRITAIN’S chief nurse has warned sun-lovers to stay at home — to stop more brave NHS staff having to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Ruth May begged families to help save lives and not to be tempted by the soaring temperatures over Easter.
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And in a blunt message to the country she said: “The actions you take this weekend will have consequences.”
So far, 25 NHS workers and carers have died from Covid-19,
Most, such as nurse Aimee O’Rourke and consultant Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, caught the virus while treating patients in hospitals where they worked.
And as thousands gathered in parks and on beaches to soak up the 22C (71F) heat yesterday, Ms May warned more could die.
In a direct appeal she said: “I want you to remember the sacrifices that others are making.
“The countless others who are not at home this weekend because they are saving lives.
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“You may have seen some TV coverage this week about what’s happening in our hospitals.
“Dedicated, skilled, professional NHS staff calmly dealing with the mounting numbers of patients with coronavirus. They are frank about the toll it takes, both physical and emotional.
“And of course nurses, healthcare assistants, midwives, and other NHS staff are now among the victims of this coronavirus.
“The loss of our own is heartbreaking. The NHS is a family and we feel their loss deeply.
“Every single person in this country can help. Stay at home.”
STAY HOME
Her warning came as the daily death toll in the UK rose by 980, the biggest increase yet and worse than Spain’s deadliest day.
New infections were also markedly up on the day before.
But Ms May said the sight of large numbers failing to abide by social distancing rules was “enormously frustrating”.
She added: “There’s also still occasions where my colleagues are getting abuse for driving off to work. Sam, a nurse in a mental health organisation in the East of England, had grief from her neighbours because she was travelling to work.
“Our nurses, our healthcare staff, need to be able to get to work, it’s right and proper they do, but my ask of everybody, please stay at home, save lives and protect my staff.”
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Meanwhile, deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said deaths had to be falling consistently before lockdown could be lifted and warned it was premature to say the peak of the crisis had been reached.
He added: “We are in a dangerous phase still. And I need to reinforce that again to you, that this is not over.”
But with the number of patients in hospital beds and critical care cases both falling in London for the first time, Professor Van-Tam said “the curve is beginning to bend and your hard work is beginning to pay off”.
Lockdown rebels were yesterday ordered off beaches and out of parks by police with loudspeakers as hundreds continued to ignore social distancing rules.
In Brighton video footage showed groups taking advantage of the warm weather on the city’s beach. Temperatures over the weekend are among the warmest so far this year.
It hit 21C (70C) by lunchtime in London and the South East and later rose to 24C (75F).
VIRUS VICTIMS
The son of consultant urologist Mr Chowdhury, 53 — who died on Wednesday night — warned that more NHS staff were at risk of dying.
Intisar, 18, said: “My father is not the first and he is unfortunately not going to be the last NHS frontline worker to die. I want everyone to remember him for the kind and compassionate hero he was, because he was a hero.”
The number of NHS and care workers who die after contracting the disease from patients is likely to soar. The rising tally comes amid concerns over the testing crisis, with ministers under increasing pressure to explain when NHS workers are to be tested and why Britain lags behind other nations.
The Government is also under pressure to accelerate the supply of protective equipment and address growing fears that frontline staff risk both catching and spreading coronavirus.
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Three carers have now been confirmed as dying from the killer virus.
Carol Jamabo, 56, from Greater Manchester, Catherine Sweeney, 65, from West Dunbartonshire, and Sue Prince, 63, from the West Midlands, all died after contracting Covid-19.
Mother-of-three Aimee O’Rourke was described as an angel who would “wear her NHS crown forever” after losing her life to coronavirus.
The 39-year-old died where she worked, at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital (QEQM) in Margate, Kent.
Rebecca Mack, 29, from Morpeth, Northumberland, had no underlying health problems when she died of Covid-19. She worked for NHS 111 but was previously a children’s cancer nurse.
PPE CRISIS
John Alagos, 23, is the youngest nurse known to have succumbed to coronavirus.
He collapsed and died at home after an exhausting 12-hour shift at Watford General Hospital.
Colleagues said they still did not have enough PPE.
One reckoned: “John was not wearing a proper mask, none of us are, even since his tragic death. It’s unacceptable.
“What more warning do they need? It’s really serious.”
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The hospital’s chief nurse Tracey Carter said: “We can assure our staff that the personal protective equipment guidelines we have in place across our trust follow national guidelines.”
Police patrols have been ramped up as councils warned anyone embarking on an Easter getaway could expect to be turned away.
But visuals from location technology firm TomTom showed traffic in London, Manchester and Birmingham was significantly down on Thursday compared with the equivalent day in 2019.
Patrols in row park
OFFICIALS will unlock the gates to a London park today after more than three weeks of protests by locals.
Victoria Park, will be open from 8am-4pm while cops and council officers patrol for sunbathers.
Exercisers must keep moving and games are banned.
John Biggs, mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “Do not ignore clear instructions and respect staff, police and others.
“Public health remains our priority, especially for those who are most vulnerable.”
Chief Nurse Ruth May says is 'enormously frustrating' to see people not social distancing while nurse Sam Halms was slammed by neighbour for travelling to work by car
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