MPs HEAR HARSH REALITY OF GOVERNMENT BEING 'TOO SLOW TO ACT WITH A NUMBER OF THINGS'

THE UK was handed disturbing news on many levels today as hospital deaths from coronavirus charged towards 15,000 with a true total likely to be half as much again.

The Department of Health confirmed another 847 lives have been lost to Covid-19 as a Government adviser told MPs up to 40,000 people could die in Britain in the first wave of Covid-19 – with the potential for another nine more waves after restrictions are relaxed.

The Commons Health and Social Care Committee heard the claims from Professor Anthony Costello as Austria's Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said Britain's measures were issued too late, with charts showing the UK failing to slow its infection rate rise.

Prof Costello, of University College London's Institute for Global Health, said the UK will probably have the highest death rate in Europe because the Government was "too slow" to act.

As Atherstone is still coming to terms with its own losses – Roy Allitt and Brian Cunner Cadman – from the virus, the leading physician told a committee of MPs that the "harsh reality" is that "we were too slow with a number of things".

The comments came as hospital deaths from the virus jumped to 14,576 – the total showing no sign of slowing with 700 or more fatalities recorded every day since April 7.

Some 9,203 lives have been lost in that 11-day period and the overall toll could be as much as 50 per cent higher with reported figures of more than 5,000 deaths among care home residents.

More than 40 NHS heroes have died and 20 London bus drivers are among 26 transport worker victims. The case fatality rate in the UK stands currently at 13.38 per cent, with only Italy having a worse figure.

Similarly the new confirmed case total of 108,692 in the UK – up 5,599 – shows a consistently sustained-high level since April 7, today's total being the worst during that period. Some 52,231 people have been recorded testing positive over the 11 days.

Prof Costello added: "This wave from coronavirus could see 40,000 deaths by the time it's over.

"If we're going to suppress the chain of transmission of this virus in the next stage we all hope that the national lockdown and social distancing will bring about a large suppression of the epidemic so far – but we're going to face further waves.

"And so we need to make sure that we have a system in place that cannot just do a certain number of tests in the laboratory, but has a system at district and community level."

But Prof Costello, giving evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee, said we "should not have any blame at this stage" but that "we can make sure in the second wave we're not too slow".

He said the UK could expect to see up to ten waves of coronavirus before the population achieves herd immunity.

Last month, Sir Patrick Vallance, the country's chief scientific advisor, said around 40 million Brits would need to catch Covid-19 to build up "herd immunity" and prevent the disease returning in future.

But Prof Costello warned that this first wave of the virus is likely to see just 10 to 15 per cent of the population infected.

"We will need to see another five to six waves before we get to 60 per cent of the population infected (the threshold for herd immunity)," he said.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that testing will be expanded to those in the police, fire service and prisons, as well as critical local authority workers, the judiciary and Department for Work and Pensions staff where required.

Mr Hancock confirmed to the committee that more than 50,000 NHS workers have now been tested for coronavirus.

MPs were also told that healthcare staff are "genuinely concerned" about the safety of patients being compromised if workers are spread too thinly.

Professor Graham Medley earlier told MPs on the Commons Science and Technology Committee that death rates and hospital admissions had slowed considerably, but asked if an earlier lockdown might have saved lives, he added: "Had we gone into this state of lockdown in mid-January, then, quite possibly, we would have had very, very few cases."

Millions of workers could be ordered to wear face masks to prevent a deadly second wave of coronavirus once lockdown ends it's claimed as ministers are in talks to assess how the UK can return to the workplace once the protocols are eased.

Yesterday, stand-in PM Dominc Raab extended the lockdown for at least another three weens but increasingly it is looking like June before restrictions are relaxed.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the Job Retention Scheme for another month until the end of June. This sees firms furloughed but workers receiving 80 per cent of their salaries from the Government.