Thank you ever so much, liz. On the latter pa rt thank you ever so much, liz. On the latter part of your questions, a few weeks ago much of a debate was about ventilators and the need for more ventilators. There was concerns about the Health Service as to whether the Health Service would be able to cope. What you saw was a National Effort to make sure that we had enough ventilators and what you are seeing in terms of ppe is very much a National Effort to make sure we do that. We recognise we need to be backing up though so many amazing people, not just within be backing up though so many amazing people, notjust within the Health Service but more broadly right across the country. We need the right levels of ppe and we are going to do everything we can do to deliver them. We recognise they are doing an incredibly importantjob and every part of government and every pa rt and every part of government and every part of the nation is doing everything it can do to meet that. Jenny, i am everything it can do to meet that. Jenny, lam not everything it can do to meet that. Jenny, i am not sure you want to mention anything on survival rates . Perhaps a question back, you mentioned best practice, was there a particular element of best practice youve had in mind . If there is any particular strategy to promote best practice and if the survival rates between different hospitals are playing into that, are being used to develop that . 0k, playing into that, are being used to develop that . Ok, i playing into that, are being used to develop that . 0k, ithink playing into that, are being used to develop that . Ok, i think quite separately from covid or anything else, we have quality monitoring programmes and we have professional groups who will monitor themselves as well. So for example, doctors respiratory physicians, or intensive ca re respiratory physicians, or intensive care specialists are forever comparing their data and their practice in order to learn from each other. That is notjust in this country, that is from overseas as well. So there are particular elements of this, which i think at this stage are difficult to tease out, and as we go forward you will see over the coming months and yea rs, see over the coming months and years, not just see over the coming months and years, notjust in the uk but internationally as well, whole number of Research Papers looking and comparing to see what different elements of practice have been successful. But obviously, at this stage we want to be identifying elements which are successful and implementing those as quickly as possible, but being sure that the evidence we have actually says that is the case. And then if there are differential rates for survival for example, andi differential rates for survival for example, and i will come back to that in a moment, then clearly we wa nt to that in a moment, then clearly we want to identify any factors that would be involved in that and try and improve them. It is a very, very complex picture at the moment, so in terms of best practice, you will be aware there are a number of trials running and that is a classic example of trying to ensure that we have very strong evidence as early as possible. It has been a very, very Rapid Research deployment asian and we will act on results of that as soon as it is safe to do so. In terms of survival, it is quite difficult because every person who comes into the hospital is an individual. We are all very, very different. We were talking previously for example, around ethnicity and we know if you are a male you will come off more badly and children are less affected and we know it is a risk if you have other underlying conditions. Each of those factors, what we may call a confounding factor in our analysis in terms of who survives and who doesnt, needs to be properly accounted for. The short answer is yes, there are data collection, and there is a collection of data which there is a collection of data which the intensive Care Consultants use routinely and we will be looking at and there is specific data aligned with covid as well. It would be quite early to say at the moment, as soon as there are any specific factors we try to highlight those and one of the early elements coming out of this, and a little bit like the flu, is that obesity is quite a risk factor as well. So there is a mixture of individual risk and how that plays out within a hospital setting. Liz, im not sure if there is anything further to the three questions, have you got a follow up . I wanted to ask, it did sound, to you secretary of state, it did sound oii you secretary of state, it did sound on what you are saying on ppe, we are trying our very, very best but we cannot guarantee the safety of every front line Health Worker . We recognise there are key areas of pressure within ppe. And asjenny touched upon the pressure points have actually shifted over the last few weeks in terms of what types of ppe are required. We recognise there isa ppe are required. We recognise there is a big pressure. But what i do wa nt to is a big pressure. But what i do want to assure you and all your viewers, we are doing absolutely everything we can to bring as much ppe ride from across the globe. We recognise it is a big challenge. We recognise it is a big challenge. We recognise weve got to be supporting the people who are supporting our nation in terms of the Health Service and we will continue to focus on doing that. If we can next to go to tamara cohen from sky news. Education secretary, on schools, from what you said we are not expecting schools to reopen in the middle of may, so parents and pupils are preparing for many more months at home. We have spoken to teachers at home. We have spoken to teachers at schools where not a small minority, but the 30 or 40 of students have no computer at home, have a difficult home environment in which to learn and teachers are really worried about the long term implications of all this. What are your plans to prevent some of these children falling behind permanently . For example, do you expect schools to stay open over the Summer Holidays . And can i ask drjenny harries, we are looking back intensely at the period in february and march when potentially not enough was done to curb the spread of this epidemic. At the end of march when the World Health Organization sent their message to countries to test, test, test, you told us at the end of march that that may not be an appropriate mechanism for the uk. That may not be an appropriate mechanism forthe uk. Do that may not be an appropriate mechanism for the uk. Do you now think that failure to do more Community Testing was the wrong approach . Tomorrow, i think you raise a really important point and its something that is education secretary i worry about immensely. Of course, you always want as education secretary do seed school is full of children because you know that children benefit so much for being in school. And i think that many families right across the country are learning about some of the challenges of supporting their child in terms of home education. We touch on the really thorny issues sometimes those children not getting support from home. There may be those children who are in care. There may be children who suffer disadvantage. I mean, many of us ta ke disadvantage. I mean, many of us take it as a given that we have good intranet and it facilities at home. But that just simply isnt the case for every single child around the country. Thats why weve announced this package of measures to help some of those children who are from those most disadvantaged backgrounds. It is a worry for me that those children from those disadvantaged background are going to fall behind, they are going to struggle to catch up. That is why we are doing the things we are doing, supplying them with it equipment within their home, helping and supporting them. And also helping and supporting schools to do teaching in the home, helping those children to really succeed. And we recognise there is going to be a whole raft of things. Schools, colleges, nurseries, and of course government, need to come together in order to be able to support those children to really succeed in life. I dont want to see children falling behind. And ill do absolutely everything i can do to make sure that no child, whatever their background, is falling behind as a result of this crisis. If i can hand over tojenny. Result of this crisis. If i can hand over to jenny. Yes, thank you. I recognise that my commentary, which im actually going to stick with from that period, has been reinterpreted several times. Im getting very used to this. I think at the time that that statement was made many of the countries around the world did not know that they had a problem. And one of the reasons for who to be reinforcing the importance of testing was for countries to identify that there was a problem. That was not the case for the uk. We had and we still have a very clear plan. We had a containment phase and it was very successful. If you remember, we had planes coming in from wuhan, we quarantined people under very strict quarantined people under very strict quarantine regimes from high risk areas. We followed up individual cases and families, wherever that was possible. But once you end up with seeding and cases which were recognised across the country, our focus has to be, and i still think this is great, and managing the clinical conditions of those individuals. We have continued to do that. In an area where, in an ideal world, perhaps if you have endless resources , world, perhaps if you have endless resources, and i mean that in terms of people, not in financial terms, but mechanisms for following through testing, Contact Tracing going on, its an important approach to be considered. But i think interesting at the moment is the uk continues to be compared with germany, and there has been a lot of comparison. We will continue to do that. Its very, very important that we learn from other countries. But german rates of disease are starting to rise now. We are at different phases used during the containment period. Tomorrow, not sure if theres any follow u p tomorrow, not sure if theres any follow up on questions . Can i ask you a quick follow on schools . Of course you can. You didnt say whether schools would need to stay open during the summer break but if thatis open during the summer break but if that is an option being considered . And also, whenever schools end up going back, do you see it being phased and you believe any form of social distancing is really in schools . I think we recognise the challenges of anyone who is a parent of trying to instil social distancing in small children. And we have to understand really that sort of broad context. We are in a stage in terms of dealing with this pandemic where there are an awful lot of questions that sadly people would love to have answers to, but in terms of how the virus develops we have to see that. There are currently no plans to have schools open over the summer period and we havent been working on plans to havent been working on plans to have them open during the summer period. But what we are looking that is different ways, such as, the oak national academy, of how we can actually provide resources for a children right across the country, making sure that they can have the ability to catch up on their learning. Thank you ever so much, tomorrow. If we can go to hugo i yougov guy . Thank you, secretary of state are you looking at whats happening to schools in countries like denmark, where they are trying things like staggering the school day, reducing class sizes, to allow schools to reopen eventually . To do that with innovations which make them safer places. And can i ask dr jenny harries, you said just now that testing is not necessarily the reason why the uk has so many more coronavirus deaths than many other large countries. Do you know what the reason is that . Why do you think of the uk has been so much worst hit than many other large countries . So ifi than many other large countries . So if i touch upon the point is to are we looking at other countries and learning from them . Absolutely. And we are seeing a few examples of countries opening up their schooling system and will look closely as to how that works, how that goes and what lessons can be learned from it so we can benefit from that. Thank you. I thinkjust to step back a little bit about what i did say, i dont think i quite said that testing and the deaths were directly linked. What i actually said was we have a difficulty in understanding the variation potentially between Different Countries and what steps are there to be clear what it is what it may be causing variation in patterns across the country. Now germany stands out currently, but againi germany stands out currently, but again i think we need to be very clear we need to look back in 12, 20 months time on this. Germany currently stands out are different to other european countries. But in fa ct to other european countries. But in fact the uk is not sitting at the top of the european list, if you like, of deaths at the moment. Its really important we understand what this means. Counting deaths, i know its a sad thing to talk about, and its a sad thing to talk about, and its something which has had a lot of focus in the media recently, but actually probably the most useful statistic going forwards compare between countries would be looking to see what is the difference between now, when we have had a pandemic, regardless of what the individual has died from, and what we have had in previous years at the same season and with an age adjustment for that population . And all of those Different Things will va ry all of those Different Things will vary between Different Countries. So its very difficult to draw direct comparisons. Its not an excuse, its a fact. Its an observation. And if we dont do it very carefully, we will go off into patterns of exploration which actually dont give us the answer is that we need to manage either this pandemic or similar disease occurrences in the future. Hugo, is there any follow up questions you may have . Yeah. Thanks for that, dr hurries. Just to clarify, are you suggesting it would take a year, two years or more, before any realistic useful comparisons can be made between countries . Im not suggesting any useful ones. Obviously we do that on a daily basis. The very fact we are talking here in this conversation about germany is one example, and many other countries as well, indicates that we are all very alert to the fa ct that we are all very alert to the fact that Different Countries may be experiencing slightly different rates. What i am saying is we need to be very careful about our comparisons and take into account the age population in a different country. So italy, for example, appears to have been extremely badly affected. But if there are very different family dynamics, for example, potentially more multi generational units, potentially a higher proportion of the elderly, all sorts of different variables both in population make up and in the culture, and in how the Health Service managers and in how Public Health interventions are implemented. All of those need to be taken into implemented. All of those need to be ta ken into account implemented. All of those need to be taken into account before we jump onto one side or another. Thank you very much, hugo. If we can go to kate devlin at the independent. Two questions, if i may. As this morning if we were past the peak of the virus, one of the governments on advisers, sirjeremy virus, one of the governments on advisers, sir jeremy farrar, virus, one of the governments on advisers, sirjeremy farrar, said yes. Do you agree . Could we be past the peak . And secondly, ifi yes. Do you agree . Could we be past the peak . And secondly, if i may come at last year the independent saw a leaked e mail to nhs trusts which warned that a sustainable supply of guidance would not be with them until midjune. Supply of guidance would not be with them until mid june. Will doctors and nurses be facing a shortage of gowns for another six weeks . Well kate, i think you will want to have the expert medical response in terms of whether we have passed the peak, as opposed to necessarily from me. As regards ppe and gowns, we recognise it is a challenge and we recognise it is a challenge and we recognise it is a challenge and we recognise it is a global challenge. But going back to what i said earlier, the whole resources of government and the whole resources of the nation are really focused in terms of dealing with that and making sure that we have a gang supply that is needed by our amazing nhs for the work that they are doing within it. If i could askjenny to comment on the issue in terms of whether we are passing the peak. |j would be very tempted to offer a comment on that today but im not going to be for a number of reasons. There is some very good news in the sense that today the uk deaths were down to 596. That was from 888 yesterday. We could jump to all sorts of positive conclusions about that, but we shouldnt. We should be extremely guarded. It was a weekend day. We know that uk hospitals will tend to report later on. I will anticipate those numbers will increase tomorrow. Ido i do think it is fair to say that we do know from the Hospital Data that we are now starting to plateau across. And if i look at the number of patients, in patients diagnosed it doesnt mean these are the total number of cases across the uk. But they are down 30 , lets say, just on average. Moving around on a daily basis from about eight to ten days ago. It is not fair to say we are past the peak and the obvious statement to make is if we dont keep doing the social distancing there will be a second peak and we definitely will not be past it so this is no reason to consider we have managed this. I do think things are looking to be heading in the right direction. Kate, is there a follow u p right direction. Kate, is there a follow up question you have for jenny or myself . Correct me if i am wrong on the secretary of state, it sounds like you cannot tell doctors and nurses at date for when this shortage of gowns will be solved and do you understand that is incredibly worrying for them . I very much understand the worry people would have over this. This is why we will be getting in the extra gowns in from turkey tomorrow and we will be making sure that we are bringing in further protective equipment, including gowns all the way through, because we want to make sure there is that continuous supply. But this is that continuous supply. But this is an incredibly fast moving environment but every effort of government, every effort of the nhs is being put in to make sure they have that continuous supply that our Health Service quite rightly expects and needs for those on the front line. Thank you very much. If we can move line. Thank you very much. If we can move to amy gibbons from the Times Education supplement. That afternoon. Education secretary, should teachers working in schools during the outbreak have ppe . What we have done is, we have worked very closely with the whole sector in terms of issuing advice as to what type of protection they need. I have to say, as someone who has family members who are working in schools and someone who very much sees first hand the amazing work that is being done by teachers, teaching assista nts being done by teachers, teaching assistants and all that are going into schools at this time to make sure schools are open, i am really in awe and appreciation for what is being done. But for their safety, in awe and appreciation for what is being done. But fortheirsafety, it is absolutely paramount as it is for the children. We have issued guidance and worked with selected and explained what is needed and what is required and we have been very clear about that. We have asked public england to work with and we have spoken directly to the unions as to what is required to give them the reassurance we are doing everything required to support teachers and those who work in the schools. Not sure if you have a follow up question at all . Schools. Not sure if you have a followup question at all . Yes please, i wanted to ask what scientific advice has the government received on the safety implications for opening the schools the teachers . As i set out right at the start, there are five key tests that we have put forward. They need to be passedif we have put forward. They need to be passed if we are going to be in a position to start changing restrictions we are currently operating under. We are already talking with the sector as to what needs to be done and how we support them for when we stop bringing schools back fully and operationally, as we would expect to see schools. Finally, one of the key point we need to ensure is that people have proper notice so they are able to prepare. Whether that is teachers and those working in schools, but it is also about pa rents schools, but it is also about parents and children, those families who are having to deal with the consequences of this pandemic and making sure that they have enough notice in order to be able to plan. At every stage we are trying to give as clear and comprehensive guidance about the safety of those working in schools and of course, those children who are in schools. I am not surejenny children who are in schools. I am not sure jenny if you have anything to say about the sort of safety of those working in schools . |j to say about the sort of safety of those working in schools . I mean, right at the start of the pandemic and the implementations that we considered, if schools had been u nsafe considered, if schools had been unsafe places they would have been closed very much earlier on and we need to keep that in mind. Schools are need to keep that in mind. Schools a re really need to keep that in mind. Schools are really important places for learning and for socialising. But they were not a key element of risk, if you like in the early modelling work which was done. As we go forward we need to be really careful, we are in a different context. So obviously what was when we first started off, we need to change and we need to look at what change and we need to look at what change and we need to look at what change and intervention will result in what outcome for our population. And one of the key issues with children, thankfully we do know they seem to be less severely affected by this, but we still have a huge amount to learn about the virus generally in terms of its transmission and that is particularly a case in children. So there is still a lot of learning. We will be looking at that again along with other responses. We continuously keep an eye on International Evidence where other countries have looked at similar things and the Scientific Advisory group for emergencies will continue to look at that as well. Thank you very much, amy. If we go finally to kit sandeman from the nottingham post. Thank you, secretary of state. The lack of ppe and social care has beena the lack of ppe and social care has been a critical issue in nottingham as it has around the country. We have received 40 of what it was told to expect from its first delivery. Nottingham city council have said it has been haphazard and inadequate and promises made by the government have been broken. Is there an argument that you have over promised on the delivery of ppe . And secondly, when the shipment of ppe from turkey does arrive, can you tell us how it will be distributed and allocated and whether social ca re and allocated and whether social care will be put on an equal footing with the nhs . Before i answer those questions, can i take the opportunity to thank the two brilliant universities in the city of nottingham who have been playing an incredibly Important Role in terms of dealing with the coronavirus crisis, whether that is the university of nottingham and Trent University who have lent a key testing equipment in order to boost the nations capacity and also to do tests, but also are working in terms of the mapping of the coronavirus so we can best understand to treat it. Really, the city of nottingham has been shining the light as to what an Important RoleHigher Education institutions play in terms of a battle with the coronavirus. You have raised an important point and that important point in terms of those social care settings, those homes and right at the start we recognise that local resilience forums, which Nottingham City Council is actually part of and key player are vital in making sure we get the distribution right on ppe. So when we are bringing more ppe into the country and when it is being manufactured in this country we are using the local resilience forums as a key element to making sure the right type of equipment is getting into care homes and many other settings and that will certainly be the case in making sure the right equipment gets to the right places and the local resilience forums will play a key role in that. I am not sure if you would like to add anything, jenny . Yes, thank you secretary of state. |j think perhaps what isnt evident in discussing ppe generally is just how complex distribution in the system is. That represents, as you have highlighted, the care sector are critical in their response. That is not just the care critical in their response. That is notjust the care sector in care homes, it is individual care workers working in a domiciliary basis on an individual clients home as well. That poses challenges in itself, so on the one hand, there are quite well established, or were at the start of this process, hospital drop systems. We have had to develop much broader ones to reach right out to the care sector more generally, but even so and the secretary of state has said, the lrf is critical in scooping up an opportunity to ensure we can reach those small care homes, individual care homes or individual ca re individual care homes or individual care workers who might not feature in some of the bigger, national planning. So they are a critical component of this. I do know there have been two drops out recently and there are two more, three drops planned for tomorrow, the 20th of april and hopefully another one the same day, a fourth drop. These are ongoing so the lrf who have experienced the receipt of ppe, it doesnt mean it is forgotten, it is on an ongoing basis. Going back to some of my earlier comments, it is important we dont just some of my earlier comments, it is important we dontjust drop a certain amount of ppe in one area or a few areas where they can be used, and leave others with front line staff unsupported. So it is inevitable, but where there are potential shortage supplies internationally, we want to do more frequent drops to ensure that critical staff on the front line are given the right equipment and