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| UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson 'against lifting lockdown over second wave fears' | UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson 'against lifting lockdown over second wave fears' |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Anger mounts over PPE shortages; culture secretary says official minute’s silence for NHS workers killed by virus ‘a very good idea’ | |
| Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, has cast doubt on the government’s claim that the delayed PPE shipment form Turkey will arrive today. | |
| Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: | |
| Dowden also backed Labour and union call for a minute’s silence to honour the NHS workers who have died from coronavirus. | |
| Dowden, who as culture minister has responsibility for such ceremonies, suggested the government would soon announce that an official minute’s silence will be held. He said: | |
| Asked if it would be an official minute’s silence, Dowden said: “Yes I think it could be, but we will make an announcement on that at an appropriate time.” | |
| The Labour leader Keir Starmer, responding to the call by Unison, the Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of Midwives for a minute’s silence to honour all workers who have died from coronavirus, said: | |
| The government has said the delayed delivery of PPE from Turkey is due to arrive later today. The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, said he expected the flight to take off this afternoon. | |
| Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he said he did not want to make further promises after his cabinet colleague Robert Jenrick said the shipment would arrive on Sunday. But Dowden added that it was his understanding the delivery would be made later on Monday. | |
| Jenrick promised the shipment would consist of 84 tonnes of PPE, including 400,000 much-needed surgical gowns. | |
| Welcome to our UK coronavirus live blog. | Welcome to our UK coronavirus live blog. |
| Boris Johnson is reported to be cautious about easing the lockdown for fear of sparking a second wave of coronavirus infections. | Boris Johnson is reported to be cautious about easing the lockdown for fear of sparking a second wave of coronavirus infections. |
| According to the Times, the prime minister held a two-hour meeting on Friday with key figures in the government at which he said lifting restrictions too soon could result in a “second peak” and lead to another lockdown. | According to the Times, the prime minister held a two-hour meeting on Friday with key figures in the government at which he said lifting restrictions too soon could result in a “second peak” and lead to another lockdown. |
| Meanwhile, hospital leaders have directly attacked the government for the first time during crisis over the shortage of personal protective amid increasing frustration at delays to a promise shipment of PPE from Turkey. | Meanwhile, hospital leaders have directly attacked the government for the first time during crisis over the shortage of personal protective amid increasing frustration at delays to a promise shipment of PPE from Turkey. |
| And the government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has warned that vaccines are “long shots” in the immediate fight against coronavirus. | And the government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has warned that vaccines are “long shots” in the immediate fight against coronavirus. |
| Writing in the Guardian, he said: | Writing in the Guardian, he said: |