Thursday 26th March 2020: 

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Responses to questions raised: 

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Issue: Basic guidance
Basic Guidance: How can I take care of myself if I become infected?

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•  Seek prompt medical attention if your illness or the illness of any household members is worsening. If it’s not an emergency, contact NHS 111 online.

• If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. If it is an emergency and you need to call an ambulance, dial 999 and inform the call handler or operator that you or your relative have coronavirus symptoms.

• Drink water to keep yourself hydrated; you should drink enough during the day so your urine is a pale clear colour.

• You can use over-the-counter medications, such as paracetamol, to help with some of your symptoms. Use these according to the instructions on the packet or label and do not exceed the recommended dose.

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Issue: Personal Protective Equipment

Question: Are sufficient supplies reaching the frontline?

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• The Government has central stockpiles of a range of medical products and is working closely with industry, the NHS and others in the supply chain to ensure these are delivered to the frontline, including the social care sector.

  • New figures show the scale of the operation to ensure steady supply in the coming weeks and months:

  • ○  On 19 March, 2.6 million face masks and 10,000 sanitisers went to Trusts in London;

  • Over the course of three days, between 20 March and 23 March, more than 200 organisations, including all NHS hospitals, received further facemasks and PPE along with ambulance trusts and other NHS organisations.

  • This week (w/c 23 March) supplies of the ‘FFP3’ sterile face masks are being delivered to NHS Trusts, including ambulance trusts;

  • Home care providers, care homes, and hospices are receiving deliveries, with every provider receiving at least 300 facemasks;

  • Every GP practice, dental practice and community pharmacy has now had a PPE delivery.

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• The NHS has world-renowned critical care facilities which include access to 5000 adult and 900 paediatric critical care ventilators, with further ventilators available outside critical care facilities.

 

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Issue: Immunity

Question: Can NHS workers/others who have had Covid-19 go back to work? Are they immune? 

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As the Health Secretary has said: “I understand why NHS staff in particular and others across the public service are keen to get testing ramped up, we need to see and are undertaking. We’ve now bought 3.5 million antibody tests to see if people who have had the virus and are immune to it and can go back to work. In the Commons I was sat next to Nadine Dorries because she now has had coronavirus and is for the time being immune to it. We expect people not to catch it except in exceptional circumstances for a second time.”

 

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Issue: Volunteers

Question: What is the latest advice on what is permitted? 

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●  The advice is clear that everyone should stay at home, apart from in exceptional circumstances. They may leave their house to provide care or to help a vulnerable person. 

●  We are doing everything we can to support vulnerable people who are without a network of friends and families. 

On the NHS Volunteer Responders scheme: 

●  The NHS is “rallying the troops” for the war on coronavirus, with volunteers being called up to help vulnerable people stay safe and well at home. 

●  We’ve had a fantastic response with over 500,000 people signing up so far. 

●  Members of the public can sign up quickly and easily at 

goodsamapp.org/NHS to become NHS Volunteer Responders, and can be called on to do simple but vital tasks such as:
- delivering medicines from pharmacies;
- driving patients to appointments; 

bringing them home from hospital;
or making regular phone calls to check on people isolating at home. 

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●  NHS Volunteer Responders is not intended to replace local groups helping their vulnerable neighbours but is an additional service provided by the NHS. 

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Issue: Vulnerable people
Question: What is being done to ensure they receive sufficient food / essential supplies?

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• A new Local Support System will make sure those individuals that have been identified by the NHS to stay at home, and are without a support network of friends and family, will receive basic groceries and medicine. 

• Members of the armed forces are already supporting Local Resilience Forums to develop and implement their plans in support of this effort. 

• National food distributors are working with the government to get the product, the food and supplies to homes. 

 

 

Issue: Insurance
Question: What help / guidance is available on insurance queries? 

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●  Ministers are aware of the issues around travel and business insurance and the volume of calls you are receiving. 

●  Support for businesses can be found on this gov.uk page: 

https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/

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Issue: Furlough
Question: Firms are using government schemes to furlough workers. How much flexibility is available? 

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• Ministers are aware of your questions around how flexible the scheme can be and what scope employers will have. 

• Further details will be made available in due course. We are working night and day to get the scheme up and running.

 

 

Issue: Self-employed
Question: What measures have been announced so far? 

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