Britain’s most senior doctors have demanded immediate Government action to tackle soaring fatalities from Covid-19 in black and Asian communities. Many fear Ministers have seriously misjudged the scale of the coronavirus crisis affecting ethnic minorities, and say it is ‘a matter of life and death’ that health chiefs tackle the issue head-on. In an unprecedented … Read more
An extra 1,400 people in England and Wales are dying in their own homes per week during the coronavirus outbreak, figures show. Latest data from the Office for National Statistics revealed 4,117 people passed away at home in the week leading up to April 10. That’s 1,392 more (51 per cent) than the week before … Read more
What is the coronavirus? A coronavirus is a type of virus which can cause illness in animals and people. Viruses break into cells inside their host and use them to reproduce itself and disrupt the body’s normal functions. Coronaviruses are named after the Latin word ‘corona’, which means crown, because they are encased by a … Read more
MEMOIR DEAR LIFE by Rachel Clarke (Little Brown £16.99, 336 pp) Growing up in the 1970s, Rachel Clarke loved hearing her father’s tales of his career in medicine. But one story, — from his days as a naval anaesthetist — lingered uncomfortably in her mind. He was only a young man himself when an explosion … Read more
An extra 2,600 people are dying from non-coronavirus causes as the NHS focuses all of its efforts on battling the crisis, figures show. England and Wales suffered a total of 16,387 deaths in the week up until April 3, the most since 2005 and more than 6,000 above average. Of the excess deaths, COVID-19 was not … Read more
Close relatives will be able to say goodbye to their loved ones as they die from coronavirus, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday afternoon. He said that wanting to be with a friend or relative at the end of life was ‘one of the deepest human instincts.’ Mr Hancock added that ‘wherever possible’ people will be given … Read more
People with diabetes have a higher risk of dying if they catch coronavirus – this is due to an overproduction of immune cells in the lungs, a new study finds. Experts from Wuhan University found people with high blood glucose levels have a much greater chance of catching more severe strains of the deadly virus. … Read more
Care homes have been ordered to allow grieving relatives a last chance to say goodbye to loved-ones before they die from coronavirus amid shocking reports of elderly victims dying alone. Matt Hancock will reportedly outline new measures to allow compassionate visits to nursing homes and outlaw the blanket use of ‘do not resuscitate’ (DNR) plans, which … Read more