This is bbc news. The headlines at 11. 00. More than 65,000 retired doctors and nurses are asked to return to work to fight the coronavirus. It comes as the Health Secretary moves to reassure nhs staff that theyll have the protective gear they need. In terms of getting the protective equipment out, the masks and the other protective equipment, that is a massive operation thats ongoing right now. The chancellor is expected to announce new measures to try to protect millions of british jobs hit by the pandemic. Ministers urge people to shop sensibly, saying there is no need to stockpile food. It comes as one Critical Care nurse appeals to people not to buy more than they need. People are just stripping the shelves of basic foods. You just need to stop it because its people like me that are going to be looking after you when youre at your lowest. Just stop it the number of dead in italy overtakes that of china. Almost 3,500 people have now died. And the queen issues a message of solidarity to the nation, saying she and her family are ready to play their part. Youre watching bbc news with me, carrie gracie. The government has announced
new measures to boost the resilience of the Health Service, as infections from the coronavirus grow in the uk. Englands top nurse and doctor have urged recently retired medics to re register and return to the workforce, to help tackle what they call the, greatest Global Health threat in history. Letters are being sent to more than 65,000 retired doctors and nurses, saying, your nhs needs you. It comes as the government publishes a list of key workers in england whose children will still be able to go to school after they shut down. The chancellor is expected to announce new measures to protect jobs, amid warnings that thousands may be laid off. Ministers have pledged to ensure all hospitals have enough protective gear and ventilators. And the queen has urged people to come together for the common good. So far, there have been 144 deaths and 3,269 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the uk. It comes as schools across the uk close indefinitely, except for those looking after the children of key workers and vulnerable children. Simonjones reports. A premature end to term. Schools are closing today, to try to halt the spread of the virus, the government has now revealed which key workers will be allowed to continue to send their children to school be looked after. They include nhs workers, nursery and Teaching Staff, police armed forces and prison, transport were, those transport workers, those involved in food production, its distribution and sale, people who work in essential Financial Services such as banks, and journalists providing Public Service broadcasting. Families only need one key worker parent to qualify. There will also be provision for vulnerable children. Last night, some of those workers were thanks at a message at Wembley Stadium and now theres a plan to boost those numbers. The nhs is gearing up for what is said to be the nhs is gearing up for what is set to be a hugely challenging period. Health regulators are writing to 50,000 former nurses and 15,000 former doctors whove left the profession in the past three years, asking them to consider returning and doing their bit. This has been welcomed by the unite union, which describes the coronavirus threat as a supreme Public Health battle of our generation. 0vernight, 150 lorries took kit from the warehouse where we have stockpiles to 150 hospitals. About half the hospitals in the country. The rest will get their lorry load by the end of the weekend. For younger people, the message is they may be less vulnerable than others,
but they must follow the guidelines on social distancing. Others, tamoor tariq, whos 30 and has a weakened immune system, has contracted the virus. Please think about where youre going, who youre mixing with and the impact it might have on you, because it can lead to getting this virus, which is quite painful. Its quite difficult to manage and it takes everything out of you. Most people who get the virus wont feel many symptoms, but some will end up in hospital. In another sign of how the disease is affecting all aspects of life, after the closure of some underground stations in london, from monday, Train Services across the uk will be scaled back. Theres been a drop in demand of almost 70 on some routes. Core services will be maintained to carry goods and to ensure people can get to work and medical appointments in what Rail Companies are calling a time of Extraordinary National challenge. Simon jones, bbc news. With me now is our correspondent richard galpin. It isa it is a strange world. Many millions of people fear losing theirjobs and others are being pulled out of retirement . And a huge number. They are talking about 50,000 nurses and 15,000 doctors. Very, very big numberand it 15,000 doctors. Very, very big number and it gives an indication of the scale of the challenge which ahead as the rate of infection sta rts ahead as the rate of infection starts to surge, reaching the peak expected and may orjune. Starts to surge, reaching the peak expected and may orjune. That is a numbers for england but there are also the other nations doing the same thing . We are hearing scotland talking about doing the same thing and these are people who have only recently retired. It is important to say, since 2017. The younger retirees and they will come in and be assessed as to what role they can play. It could be more at the front line or it could be more back room for example answering calls from the
nhs helpline, calls from the public. A variety of roles. Also, they are talking about getting students nurses and others to come in as well on top of that. Younger people coming into work in the nhs. On the retirees, presumably the point of having those who have retired within the last three years as that they are the last three years as that they a re less the last three years as that they are less at risk themselves and their skills are fresher . That is crucial. Someone who had been retired along thing would not be up dispute and there would be a lot of training for them so that is really not going to work and i think obviously those older people would be very concerned about their health. You dont want to bring along a lot of people who then end up along a lot of people who then end up getting the virus themselves. Before i let you go, richard, the other thing we should be talking about i think is protective personal equipment, so many anxieties from Health Professionals, and it will be a factor in the minds of those being
asked to return from retirement . This is a huge issue again. I was speaking to a doctor a few days ago who was absolutely alarmed. Not only saying they dont have masks, for example, and very, very worried, not only for their own health, but also as doctors, that they end up infecting other people. Are they getting answers they need from Health Secretary . The Health Secretary is pledging to provide the ppe. In terms of details, dont think we have any yet. We can talk now to professor martin marshall. Hes chairman of the Royal College of gps. Thanks forjoining us. You are at the gp end, what are your preoccupations the gp end, what are your preoccu pations right now . The gp end, what are your preoccupations right now . There are a number of challenges the general practices facing. The biggest challenge that gps as well as the whole of the nhs has had to face perhaps ever and its history. The keyissues perhaps ever and its history. The key issues for us, certainly around the size of the workforce. The
decision to bring back people who have recently retired and indeed to bring Junior Doctors who perhaps havent completely finished their training into the workforce, is absolutely welcome because we know the workforce is being diminished by people who are either ll or self isolating. The use of ppe is also important, some people are concerned about the quality of the ppe that is being used and its availability. All the evidence we have at the moment, everything we are hearing from nhs england and the department of health, is that there is out there at the moment and what is being provided is adequate. So that is important as well. The next most important as well. The next most important thing is technology, the increasing amount of work is known to be have to be done online. Usually telephones, we want Adequate Technology resources being made available, to allow them to carry on
working. Particularly those working at home. Taking those one by one, on the ppe, are you reassured by what you have heard from Health Secretary in the last 24 hour is . A has been out this morning trying to explain that there is more coming and more has been delivered to the places needed. In terms of the amount, we know there is enough going into general practice at the moment. It isa general practice at the moment. It is a concern that as the workload in general practice goes up as we reach the peak of epidemic, it will be potentially more of a risk. We will keep on talking to government about the importance of ensuring there is enough and it is getting out there, in terms of the quality of the ppe, the evidence we have been shown suggests that, for relatively low risk medical specialties like general practice where you are dealing with aerosol, what is available is probably 0k. Dealing with aerosol, what is available is probably ok. We are in Uncharted Waters here. So we dont know, we dont have good evidence year but what we have seen so far,
we are reassuring gps that it is adequate. That raises another question in my mind. Are you co mforta ble question in my mind. Are you comfortable now the public is getting the message that they should not turn up at gp surgeries if they think they are infected with the virus. Is that getting through to the public . Our experiences that most of the public understand it and respected. But not all do. It is difficult to get these public m essa 9 es difficult to get these public messages out in my own practice in east london we had a big sign in the entrance room, the entrance of the building saying if you have the symptoms, please turn back and go home and call us or call 111 and still people were squeezing round outside in order to try and get into see their gp. It is not easy to change, but i think the vast majority of people have got the message now. Can i ask for your knowledge on the question of recruiting those who have recently gone into retiring from your experience in the to medication you
have had, with doctors and nurses, will people answer that call . Yes i think these well. I think this is important and one are working closely to make sure it is intimated quickly and efficiently. There are a lot of gps as a public will know who have retired recently, perhaps at a relatively young age, still full of a lot of experience and expertise, who would like to be out there, and i suspect that the vast majority of gps who are approached will rise to the call. We have to think carefully about how best to use them, where they feel safe, and that might not be in face to face care, that might well be providing either telephone or online advice or maybe in back office clinical, but i think the vast majority of people approached will rise to this challenge. To more pressing questions before i let you go. 0ne is on testing. Have had a lot of
health workers exposing concern about this, they want to get tested, do you feel reassured by what youre hearing from the government about the waiters tried to scale up its Testing Programme . This is a big issue for Health Professionals of all sorts, not just the issue for Health Professionals of all sorts, notjust the general practitioners. We know that maybe 20 of the workforce is currently either partially or completely out of action and we know that a lot of those people probably havent got covid 19, so having early testing is really important so they can get back into supporting their collea g u es back into supporting their colleagues so we have called for this to happen. We do understand the constraints, partly in terms of the availability of the reagents and various components of the testing. But also, partly because this isnt just about health workers, there are a lot of essential workers out there, society, police, prison officers, people who stack shelves in supermarkets, people who run utilities, there is probably many millions of public and private
sector workers who might benefit from being tested so this is a real practical challenge for us and i think we have to be just a little bit patient and, about our cause but we have made that message very clear to people working in government. One on the social distancing that the government keeps asking people to do that we have seen impassioned m essa g es that we have seen impassioned messages from various nhs workers asking the public to do. Saying, were here, doing what were doing, so that you can stay at home. When you see people still going out or going to bars and restaurants, what are your feelings . Has a public got this message about social distancing enough . Probably not yet. It is a difficult message to get through. It is so important that Health Professionals a re is so important that Health Professionals are allowed to get to work and it is so important that, in doing so, they are protected as much
as possible and actually does require social distancing. I travel to work on the tube in london and most of the tubes are very quiet and most of the tubes are very quiet and most people are very respectful about spacing out what we do know that isnt always the case and when i look that isnt always the case and when ilook in that isnt always the case and when i look in some bars and restaurants, you see people there. We need to keep this Public Health message up, it is important, because social isolation and of course, boring but important, hygiene, hand washing, are the things that will really manage to get on top of this problem. On the social distancing, overnight we have seen california with four fewer deaths, far fewer cases than the uk, asking people to stay at home, effectively locking down the public. Do you feel satisfied that it is not time for that yet in the uk . 0r satisfied that it is not time for that yet in the uk . Or would you like to see the government do that . I believe and have confidence in the scientific advice that the secretary of state and the Prime Minister have received from the chief medical 0fficer received from the chief medical officer and chief scientific
adviser. This is a really difficult call, the science is not perfect but we have probably got some of the best scientists and modellers in the country, in the world, in the uk, who are supporting and helping people working in the nhs to make the right decision. The advice they are giving is that we need to do this not all in one go, we need to do it cautiously, that is what is happening. The situation is evolving as the evidence and data changes, the advice is changing and that is difficult for clinicians in the public to keep up with when they are told one thing one day and another thing another day but i think we have to recognise that a cautious, incremental approach is probably the right one. Lets hope it is. We simply wont know, we will only know in retrospect. Thank you so much for bringing your expertise, good luck to you and all the members of the Royal College of gps. The headlines on bbc news. More than 65,000 retired doctors
and nurses are asked to return to work to fight the coronavirus. The chancellor is expected to announce new measures to try to protect millions of british jobs hit by the pandemic. People are urged to shop sensibly, as supermarkets struggle to cope with panic buying. Competition laws in britain have been temporarily suspended to allow rival supermarkets to work together, as they struggle to cope with people panic buying. Its part of a package of measures which will allow stores to keep their shops staffed and stocked with food. There are increasing fears that Crucial Health workers, who are working long and unpredictable shifts, are unable to buy the food and products they need when they eventually reach a shop, all because of hoarding. Dawn bilbrough, whos a Critical Care nurse, recorded this tearful message after a tiring shift. Tearfully im a Critical Care nurse, ive just finished 48 hours of work, i just wanted to get some stuff in for the next 48 hours. Theres no fruit, theres no vegetables, ijust dont know how im supposed to stay healthy. And theres people who arejust stripping the shelves of basic foods. You just need to stop it because theres people like me that are going to be looking after you when youre at your lowest. Just stop it, please concerns aboutjobs and wages during the economic fallout of the pandemic are expected to be addressed by the chancellor today. Its thought rishi sunak will announce an emergency package to help those facing hardship in the fight against coronavirus. The government has come under pressure from labour, unions and senior conservatives to do more to help employees struggling because of the crisis. The car maker, jaguar land rover, is to suspend production at its uk plants from next week because of the outbreak. It hopes to reopen the sites in the West Midlands and merseyside in four weeks time. Its factories in brazil and india will continue their operations. Lets get more on this now with torsten bell, chief executive of the resolution foundation, which is a think tank that works to improve the Living Standards of people on low to middle incomes. He was economic adviser to the then chancellor Alistair Darling during the 2008 financial crash. Hejoins me from haringey in north london. Good morning. Thanks forjoining us. What would you like to