Matt Hancock, the U.K. health secretary, said the coronavirus outbreak “is the biggest public health emergency in a generation” and called on industry to step up and build the important medical equipment needed.
Writing in the Telegraph, he called for “dramatic action, at home and abroad, of the kind not normally seen in peacetime.”
Hancock said the government was launching “a call to arms for a drive to build the ventilators and other equipment the NHS will need … We now need any manufacturers to transform their production lines to make ventilators. We cannot make too many.”
Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Hancock said: “If you produce a ventilator, we will buy it. No number is too high.”
"If you produce a ventilator, we will buy it. No number is too high."
Health Secretary @MattHancock says "the thing the NHS needs now more than anything is more ventilators", and the has been "buying as many as we can".
Follow #Ridge live: https://t.co/8xbsmjBX8F pic.twitter.com/okknyBGqf8
— Sophy Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) March 15, 2020
Hancock added in his Telegraph piece that the advice given to the government by its Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies was “planned effective interventions … including measures to shield older and medically vulnerable people from the virus. Everyone will need to help to ensure they get the support they need to stay at home, and to protect them from the consequences of isolation: loneliness, and a lack of support. Government, local councils, charities, friends and neighbours will need to be part of the national effort to support the shielded.”
Asked by Skys Sophy Ridge if the plan was for over-70s to be asked to self-isolate and stay at home for up to four months, Hancock said “that is the plan” but “not yet.”
Sophy Ridge asks Health Secretary Read More – Source
Matt Hancock, the U.K. health secretary, said the coronavirus outbreak “is the biggest public health emergency in a generation” and called on industry to step up and build the important medical equipment needed.
Writing in the Telegraph, he called for “dramatic action, at home and abroad, of the kind not normally seen in peacetime.”
Hancock said the government was launching “a call to arms for a drive to build the ventilators and other equipment the NHS will need … We now need any manufacturers to transform their production lines to make ventilators. We cannot make too many.”
Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Hancock said: “If you produce a ventilator, we will buy it. No number is too high.”
"If you produce a ventilator, we will buy it. No number is too high."
Health Secretary @MattHancock says "the thing the NHS needs now more than anything is more ventilators", and the has been "buying as many as we can".
Follow #Ridge live: https://t.co/8xbsmjBX8F pic.twitter.com/okknyBGqf8
— Sophy Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) March 15, 2020
Hancock added in his Telegraph piece that the advice given to the government by its Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies was “planned effective interventions … including measures to shield older and medically vulnerable people from the virus. Everyone will need to help to ensure they get the support they need to stay at home, and to protect them from the consequences of isolation: loneliness, and a lack of support. Government, local councils, charities, friends and neighbours will need to be part of the national effort to support the shielded.”
Asked by Skys Sophy Ridge if the plan was for over-70s to be asked to self-isolate and stay at home for up to four months, Hancock said “that is the plan” but “not yet.”
Sophy Ridge asks Health Secretary Read More – Source
