UK coronavirus cases surpass 5,000 with a total of 233 deaths

The confirmed number of people in the UK that have died in 24 hours from coronavirus has risen by 53 to a total of 233 on Saturday.

The Department of Health announced, “As of 9am on 21 March, a total of 72,818 have been tested: 67,800 negative,” with 5,018 people confirmed positive in the UK, rising by 1,035 in 24 hours.

The NHS has struck a deal with private hospitals who have almost 20,000 qualified staff, 8,000 hospitals and 1,200 ventilators.

Across England private hospitals have 10,000 nurses, 700 doctors and more than 8,000 fully qualified clinical staff, all of which will join the NHS to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Those in London that need medical care will now have access to more than 2,000 extra hospital beds and over 250 operating theatres.

Latest figures published on Friday, shows that more than 60 Londoners have died from coronavirus and the latest report from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is alarming.

This comes after the SAGE report written on Monday and published on Friday, suggests that for every one death across London there could be thousands of infected Londoners.

Boris Johnson ordered pubs, restaurants and shops to close across the UK on Friday until further notice to stop the spread of coronavirus, bur despite this order some cafes and restaurants are still open in the capital such as Gail’s.

An NHS London hospital said they are so overwhelmed they are forced to turn coronavirus patients away to other hospitals.

On Friday a major London hospital declared a “critical incident” as the number of coronavirus cases are doubling, and the death rate is climbing.

Northwick Park Hospital in northwest London confirmed it had reached “critical care capacity” and does not have any required space for patients needing “critical care.”

In an email seen by LondonLovesbusiness, Lisa Knight, Chief Nurse told colleagues across the NHS on Thursday evening at 19:15 hours that “to be clear we are not declaring a major incident, but the current situation does warrant that special measures are put in place.”

The email added that the NHS are “working under considerable pressure” particularly in “critical care, theatres and in many of our acute services.”