Coronavirus: Boris Johnson says we are "past the peak"

Boris Johnson, leading his first Downing Street press briefing since recovering from coronavirus, paid tribute to the NHS.

The Prime Minister, whose fiancee Carrie Symonds gave birth to a son on Wednesday, said: “I want to thank everybody who has been doing such a good job in my absence, and I want to thank the NHS for so much – including getting me back here and, I might add, a very much happier hospital visit yesterday.”

Mr Johnson said: “Families every day are continuing to lose loved ones before their time, we grieve for them and with them, but as we grieve, we are strengthened in our resolve to defeat this virus to get this whole country back to health, back on its feet.”

Also read: Police reveal number of on-the-spot fines dished out to lockdown rule-breakers

A further 674 patients had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, up from 26,097 the day before.

Mr Johnson acknowledged the “frustrations” in expanding the number of coronavirus tests and the difficulties getting sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE).

“We’re determined urgently and in particular to overcome those challenges that have in the last few weeks been so knotty and so infuriating,” the PM said.

“I’m not going to minimise the logistical problems we face in getting the right protective gear to the right people at the right time, both in the NHS and in care homes.

“Or the frustrations that we’ve experienced in expanding the numbers of tests.

• Also read: Coronavirus: One more death confirmed in Dorset puts total at 119

“But what I can tell you is that everyone responsible for tackling these problems, whether in Government or the NHS or Public Health England or in local authorities, we’re throwing everything at it, heart and soul, night and day, to get it right – and we will get it right and we’re making huge progress.

“And I will not underrate the work and achievement of those who are dealing with global shortages in a global pandemic – they are rising to a challenge we’ve never seen in our lifetimes.”

In declaring the UK was officially past the peak of coronavirus infections, the PM said: "At no stage has our NHS been overwhelmed, no patient went without a ventilator, no patient was deprived of intensive care, we have five of the seven projected Nightingale wards.

“It is thanks to that massive collective effort to shield the NHS that we avoided an uncontrollable and catastrophic epidemic where the reasonable worst-case scenario was 500,000 deaths.

“I can confirm today that for the first time we are past the peak of this disease.

“We are past the peak and on the downward slope.”

• Also read: Rubbish tips in Dorset to reopen "as soon as practically possible"

Mr Johnson acknowledged the difficulties the public has suffered during “enforced confinement” where they have not been able to see friends and family while worrying about jobs.

“Your effort and your sacrifice is working and has been proved to work,” he said.

Mr Johnson said he would next week set out how to kickstart the economy with a "road map” for easing lockdown restrictions.

Mr Johnson said: “What you are going to get next week is really a road map, a menu of options – the dates and times of each individual measure will be very much driven by where we are in the epidemic, what the data is really saying and we are getting in a lot more data every day now and in the course of the next few days.

“Until this day comes (when an inoculation is ready), and we cannot say exactly when this will be, we are going to have to beat this disease by our growing resolve and ingenuity,” said the PM.

Referring to conditions needed for easing lockdown restrictions, Mr Johnson said: “We must be sure that we can continue to protect the NHS and its ability to cope.

“We must see a sustained fall in deaths.

“We must all make sure that the measures we take do not risk a second spike that would overwhelm the NHS.”

Sir Patrick Vallance said there has been a decrease in the number of cases, as well as a decrease in the number of deaths from Covid-19.

He said: “The number of new cases is down, that’s turning into fewer admissions, fewer people in hospital, fewer people in intensive care and we’re beginning to see that decrease in deaths.”