UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock saying National Health Service is not being Overwhelmed by Covid-19 Pandemic

THE National Health Service has not been overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic and now has 2,295 spare critical care beds, according to UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock, speaking this Sunday (April 12).

“Today marks a sombre day in the impact of this disease as we join the list of countries who have seen more than 10,000 deaths related to coronavirus,” he told the daily Downing Street news briefing.

“At the start of this crisis people said that the NHS would be overwhelmed. And we’ve seen the risk of that elsewhere but not here.”

Mr Hancock said: ‘”The latest figures show that in Great Britain we have 2,295 spare critical care beds, up 150 from yesterday.

“Throughout this crisis with all the challenges that we’ve been dealing with, all the operational difficulties and all the logistics, we have always been able to provide the very best of care to everybody who needs it through the NHS.”

Paying tribute to families who have lost loved ones, Hancock said: “Their grief is our grief and their stories will not be forgotten.”

He added: “The fact that over 10,000 people have now lost their lives to this invisible killer demonstrates just how serious this coronavirus is and why the national effort that everyone is engaged in is so important.”

Mr Hancock said he did not have an update on how many NHS staff had lost their lives fighting the virus on the frontline, following the latest figure of 19 that was announced on Saturday.