I'd like first to object you on the facts about the spread of the Corona virus.

Then I will outline why it is so critical that we continue to observe the rules on social distancing.

Thirdly, I'll explain what we're doing to increase the capacity off the energy just to deal with this disease.

And finally, I want to say something about how we can all work together to defeat this invisible enemy.

First, the fax is extend today.

As of 9 a.m. Today, a total of 183,190 people have been tested, of which 41,903 tested positive.

15,000 and 73 people in England have been admitted to hospital with covered 19 symptoms, but the pattern off hospital admissions in England and Wales has regional differences.

In London, the number of admissions fell slightly between the first and second of April admissions a steady in Wales.

But in Yorkshire and the North East, they've gone up by 35%.

And in the Midlands, the rate of hospital admissions has gone up by 47%.

708 people have sadly lost their lives as a result of covered 19 the highest daily total yet recorded.

And that means that of those hospitalized in the UK, the number who've passed away now totals 4330.

Those numbers emphasize again the importance of maintaining social distancing measures to halt the spread off the disease.

More than ever, we must stick with it, as the prime minister said in his video message.

No, I know that life under lock down can be challenging on.

Some will be tempted on this sunny weekend to venture writing about it.

But as the health secretary underlined yesterday, if we relax our adherence to the rules, we increase the risk for others.

That's why it's so important to stay at home, to protect the any chess and to save lives.

We need to think of those on the front line and the sacrifices that they're making for us.

As the chief nursing officer for England reminded us yesterday, Ruth may ask, Just remember to any chess nurses who died after contracting covered 19 Arema Nasreen, who was just 36 Amy O'Rourke, aged 39 each have three young Children.

They died while doing everything he could to help the sick and the suffering.

Oui, Colonel.

Best honor them.

But I think our part in fighting the disease by staying at home and slowing the spread, seven health care professionals have now lost their lives to Coffin 19 and we offer our heartfelt condolences to their grieving families and to the many others mourning the loss of loved ones.

They include the family of Is Mile Mohammed Abdul Wahab, who died a just 13 in King's College Hospital in London.

His mother and siblings are showing symptoms of the virus, and they were unable to say their final goodbyes at his funeral.

In their despair, the loving, dignified tributes from Israel's parents truly haunting our thoughts today are all sick with the family of the five year old child with underlying health conditions, who's tragically died so again you must stay at home to protect the N hs and to save lives.

Whatever the temptations this weekend, please don't go outside to visit the lakes, the beaches, the countryside.

Take pride instead, in keeping your own families and communities safe, the more we restrict, contact the more we slow the spread of the infection, the more time we have to build capacity in the N h s so that we can treat those who are most in need.

I want no to outline how we're increasing any chess capacity.

Yesterday we were grateful to His Royal Highness.

The Prince of Wales himself recently recovered from Corona virus for opening the brand New Nightingale Hospital in East London, a testament to brilliant teamwork on determined leadership from the N.

H s.

Two weeks of hard work of travade transformed a conventional into a fully functioning field hospital that can treat 500 cover 19 patients on ventilators or through oxygenation.

New Nightingale hospitals are due to be built in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow, Harrogate on Manchester.

And given that we know that the Midlands are a particular area of concern, the N hs in the military are accelerating their existing work to transform the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham into a 2000 bed nightingale hospital.

I've spoken to the mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street earlier today and he is doing all he can with the N hs to accelerate that work.

Of course, a critical part of enduring the N H S is resilient.

Is improving the testing of staff.

10,984 tests were administered yesterday on Does the health secretary outlined on Thursday.

We have a strategy to increase that number to 100,000 today.

Testing's a critical part of the clinical path E, but we all follow in seeking to reduce the impact of covered 19.

But the next vital step is appropriate pharmaceutical treatment.

That is why is, the health secretary explained?

Clinical trials are now taking place to see if anti virals, which have helped in the fight against HIV on antimalarial medicines such as hydrogen hydroxide chlorine queen can reliably reduce the harm that the corona virus inflicts.

The next stage in the critical pathway is ensuring that those patients with impaired lung functions get the oxygen they need, and this is where ventilation comes in.

We've been working to increase ventilator capacity across the N hs ventilation could be non invasive and invasive.

Effective non invasive ventilation can ensure patients do not need to be placed on invasive ventilators where they're intubated and supported to breathe with machinery which takes oxygen direct into their lungs.

We've secured new noninvasive capacity with help of UK manufacturers who've worked.

It pays to develop new technologies.

A team from University College London, working with Mercedes Benz, have produced a new device which has been clinically approved.

They produced 250 yesterday will produce the same number today and tomorrow, rising to 1000 day next week were also increasing the capacity of the N HS to deploy invasive ventilation.

We've been buying invasive ventilators from partners abroad, including Germany and Switzerland.

On today, 300 new ventilators arrived from China.

I'd like to thank the Chinese government for their support in securing that capacity.

And we've developed new sources of supply here in the UK, with existing and modified models being made in greater numbers on new models designed to come on stream soon.

The first bottle's, which have been scaled up a spot of the Ventilator Challenge, will be coming off production lines this weekend.

Maura to come into operation in the coming weeks, subject to safety and regulatory approvals as part of the prime minister's called to manufacturers to scale up production.

Increasing this production has involved securing supplies of critical components from lithium ion batteries to flow regulators from across the globe to assemble here.

The first of the ventilators that the government is ordered from Panel on a medical devices company based in Oxfordshire will begin arriving in hospitals this week for final clinical checks.

We're grateful to the M O D personnel who will be delivering them as we are to all the companies have devoted time, staff and resources to fighting covered 19.

The first devices from Smith's group have also been received at Em OD Darlington, a military logistics hub in Shropshire.

These have been approved by the regulation.

The initial dispatch is the result of scaled up manufacturing, often existing mechanical ventilator design, and we're grateful for the efforts of an industry consortium including geeky GKN Aerospace and Rolls Royce.

Thes ventilators will be distributed to hospitals this week and next week.

UK production of another ventilator device from the company's Dime Medica and Plexus will start at their factory in Kelso in Scotland.

The design is based on an existing product already in use in the N.

H s.

The more ventilators, invasive and non invasive available to the N hs.

The more patients can get the care they need when they need it.

But the process of design, testing, assembly and manufacturer does take time.

We need to make sure that these devices are safe on their manufacturer, scaleable.

The challenges in increasing numbers are formidable, which is why the commitment of the scientists, engineers, designers and civil servants involved in this work is so impressive.

But you don't need to be assigned to store engineer.

To help them or you need to do is to observe the social distancing guidelines that have been put in place.

The more we all stay at home and slow the spread of the disease, the more time we buy for more ventilators to come on stream on for the N HS to become more resilient.

Finally, I want to turn to the way in which all parts of our country are coming together to find this invisible enemy.

Teachers have kept schools open for those who need them, and parents have kept their Children at home wherever possible.

So we end to the Easter holiday weeks with school attendance haven't been around just 2% ensuring that the most vulnerable can be cared for for Children eligible for free school meals.

Vouchers will be available over the holidays to support household incomes but unconscious that more must be done, particularly over the holiday period, to support Children at risk and a need.

I will be seeing more next week about work in this area.

I also recognize that we're asking a lot of the British people and we in government therefore have a responsibility to communicate as clearly as possible clear, factual, timely information and an honest assessment of the difficulties that we all face, as well as proper recognition of the achievements of those on the front line who doing so much to fight this disease.

Adapting to this pandemic has meant developing guidance, implementing new policies on coordinating efforts across government at an unprecedented pace.

Inevitably, there has therefore being criticism off some government actions.

I recognize that that criticism has been designed to challenge government's performance and to improve our response, which is why I welcome it.

Even as we unite in our efforts to defeat the virus, we must also recognize that robust scrutiny is to be welcome.

It's the duty of the meat you, which is why we're acting to both share robust information on support our media by investing mawr in our government Information campaign, which is being disseminated through the national media and local newspapers and radio will share essential health advice and information on the support packages, which are available from the chancellor for workers and businesses.

Will show details of how you can help to volunteer to support our any Jess or help the vulnerable, and also how you can help our great British farmers by buying Maur.

Locally grown products will also this other ways in which you can join the national effort against the Corona virus.

We're also using social media in particular week young people, some of whom have been more reluctant than others to follow social distancing rules.

And in this united national effort, where we need both constructive challenge Onda a shared spirit of national endeavor, we want to make sure that we all work collaboratively to help defeat the virus.

That's when you've been coordinating daily with our colleagues in the devolved administrations.

One.

I spoke yesterday to my friends in the trade union movement, Francis O'Grady and Len McCluskey on one of the prime minister has written today to the leaders of all opposition parties, including the new leader of the Labour Party Secure storm.

I'd like to congratulate, secure on his victory and wish him well in his important role.

I'd also like to emphasize once more that all of us can do our bit this weekend in that united national effort by staying at home, protecting the N hs and saving lives.

And now I'll hand over to Steve.

Thank you very much.

Well, as you all now know, the key to getting on talk to beating this virus used to reduce contact with each other, to stay at home and to stop the spread of the virus on Daz.

The first chart this afternoon shows that we are continuing to see people adhering to those instructions.

Transport use in particular, public transport use remains extremely low, and it's absolutely critical, as you just heard, that everybody follows those instructions so the sun might be out.

But that doesn't mean you should be out.

We all need to make sure that we resist the temptation.

Whatever the weather, to disregard the instructions that are so clear, we need to stop social contact, reduced social contact, stop transmission on reduced spread of the virus.

And by doing that, we will start to protect the N HS and to save lives on.

As the next chart shows, The new cases in the UK have continued to rise, but in the last few days they have stabilized.

Now it's really important, as I've said before, not to read too much into a day or a few days data.

But if we do reduce social contact, we know from the scientific evidence we know from the experience of other countries that we will see a reduction in infection rates.

A reduction infection rates, as the next chart shows, means a reduction in hospitalization rates For the vast majority of people.

This is a mild, moderate illness, a bit like a cold or flu.

But for a small number of people, it does mean that the symptoms of severe enough to require hospitalization.

It will be ah, week or two before the measures that are put in place translate into lower hospitalization rates.

But as you can see in London in the last few days, that has bean a bit of a platter ring in terms of numbers.

Now in other parts of the country.

As you've just heard, hospitalizations are still going up, so this is not the time to be complacent on to take our foot off the pedal.

We need to continue to comply with those instructions because that will translate in the next week or two into a reduction in hospital missions.

And, of course, finally, as the next chart shows, unfortunately, and with great sadness, the number of deaths continues to be high.

And as I and others have said, unfortunately, that is likely to continue over the next week or two until we get on top and stop this virus on.

By doing that, we will see a reduction in the number of deaths.

Thank you very much, Steve.

I will not turn to our colleagues in the media for some questions.

On First of all, Rhea Chatterjee from ITV ria Hi, this is a question for you, Michael Goave Professor Neil Ferguson, a leading scientist advising the government, has warned that the covert 19 infection rate in the U.

K could remain high for weeks and weeks.

The weather was nice this weekend.

People will be tempted to go out.

People will go out.

What is the government planning to do to make sure people stay at home because some people watching this podcast will be asking if words are enough.

Well, thank you very much.

We of the your question.

I hope that I am certainly Steve have bean clear when we look at the at the death rate.

When we look at the number of increasing fatalities, when we consider the pressure on our any chess, everyone has to ask themselves the question.

What am I doing in order to relieve pressure on the N HS?

How am I helping in the shared national effort?

All of us have loved ones.

All of us have relatives who are at risk as a result off the spread of this disease.

If we want them to be safe, then we want The energy has to be is resilient, responsible, and that means observing these guidelines.

I know that look down is challenging.

I know it's very difficult particularly, you know, for families with Children, it's it's a challenge.

But people must where you at every stage respect these guidelines because that's the only way off, making sure that we restrict the spread off the disease and Of course there are.

There are provisions in place, legal provision in place.

If people deliberately flout these guidelines, the police have instructions to engage, to explain, to encourage and if necessary, to enforce the rules.