Coronavirus: Fifth death in UK as confirmed cases rise to 319
A fifth person has died from coronavirus in the UK as the number of confirmed cases in the UK rose to 319.
The patient who was in their seventies was being treated at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Chief executive Daniel Elkeles said: “We can confirm that sadly, a patient in their seventies who was very unwell with a number of significant and long-term health conditions has passed away at St Helier Hospital. They had tested positive for Covid-19.”
Earlier today Whitty confirmed that a fourth patient, who was in their 70s, had died from coronavirus. It is believed they contracted the virus in Britain and died at a hospital in central England.
Speaking in the House of Commons, health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that a fourth person had died from coronavirus. He added that the government’s response to the outbreak would be “guided by the science” and that the government will not, at this stage, propose cancelling large events.
Responding to numerous reports that consumers are stockpiling food and household items, Hancock said the government is confident food supply will continue even in “reasonable worst-care scenario”.
London has the highest number of cases with 61 people testing positive for the virus.
The Department of Health confirmed that a total of 24,960 have been tested for the virus.
Yesterday, Public Health England confirmed that a man in his 60s was the third person to die from coronavirus in the UK.
FTSE 100 suffers biggest fall since 2008
The FTSE 100 suffered its biggest intraday fall since the financial crash as the ongoing coronavirus turmoil and plunging oil prices dragged the index below 6,000 points.
London’s blue-chip index fell by as much as 8.7 per cent to just 5,899 before recovering slightly to 6,084 points in the afternoon.
The FTSE 100 has faced a tumultuous few weeks after losing £59bn last Friday and a £200bn loss the previous week. Today, investors fled after growing concerns over the rapid spread of coronavirus across Europe.
Over the weekend Italy placed 16m citizens under lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of infection.
Saudi Arabia’s move to ramp up oil production after launching a price war with Russia yesterday was the main trigger of today’s selloff. The two countries have failed to agree on a supply cut to stabilise the oil market.
Matthew Weller, global head of market research at Gain Capital, said: “Although Saudi’s arrow was technically directed at Russia, Russia is not the one that will end up bleeding the most.”
“The ones who won’t be able to take a prolonged period of low prices – and this is what we are looking at now – are US shale producers, and actually, most of the oil majors.”
Shares in BP are down 18.12 per cent while Shell is down 13.31 per cent.
Trading halted in New York
Trading in New York was halted immediately after opening as the S&P 500 fell seven per cent, as shares were hit by coronavirus fears and a 22 per cent drop in oil prices.
The sharp drop triggered an automatic cutout for 15 minutes, put in place after the financial crisis over a decade ago.
Investors seeking a safe haven pushed yields on government bonds to historic lows. The yield on the 10 year US Treasury bond dropped below 0.5 per cent for the first time.
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Downing Street says coronavirus to spread in “significant way”
Downing Street has said that while the UK is still in its “containment” phase, coronavirus will spread in a “significant way” across the UK.
Earlier today Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired a Cobra meeting on the outbreak. A spokesperson for Number 10 said that the NHS was “well prepared for the outbreak”.
They also played down suggestions that the government was not grappling with the outbreak, following Italy’s bold decision to quarantine 16m citizens.
The government has previously said that “social distancing” measures to slow the spread of the virus could include a ban on sporting events and other large gatherings.
Supermarket bosses call for competition laws to be waived
The chief executives of the UK’s biggest supermarkets are expected to warn the government that the coronavirus outbreak could require competition law to be paused.
Sky News reported that during a phone call with environment secretary George Eustice, at least one of the four big supermarkets will call for a suspension of the rule that prevents them from working together.
Waiving the rule would allow Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco to work together on a delivery plan if the virus spreads further and becomes a pandemic.
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