Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Five-year-old among latest UK coronavirus victims

A five-year-old child with underlying health conditions is among those with coronavirus whose deaths were reported in the past day, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has said.

The latest figures show 4,313 people with the virus have now died in the UK - up by 708 on Friday's figure.

Mr Gove said hundreds of ventilators were being manufactured every day and more had been sourced from abroad.

People have been warned to stay at home despite the warm weather this weekend.

Speaking alongside Mr Gove at the government's daily briefing, NHS England medical director Stephen Powis said: "The sun might be out, but that does not mean you should be out."

He said there was some evidence that social distancing measures were reducing transmission, and that the latest figures suggested new cases had begun to "stabilise".

However, he stressed that there was "no room for complacency".

During the briefing, Mr Gove paid tribute to one of the youngest victims of the outbreak.

"Our thoughts today are also with the family of the five-year-old with underlying health conditions who has tragically died," he said.

The recent trends in deaths (doubling roughly every 3.5 days) would have predicted about 800 deaths today.

Remember that doubling every few days means that we should expect to see record new highs regularly.

Scientists remind us to look for evidence that the growth is slowing down - the first step on the journey to falling numbers of deaths.

So, compared to that projection, there is a potential silver lining to these figures - if the pattern continues.

But one day of below-trend growth is far too soon to know for sure.

It takes over three weeks from infection to death to being reported in these figures.

So while we can hope to see the effects of pre-lockdown social distancing soon, it will take longer for the effect of the lockdown, announced on 23 March, to become apparent.

There are now 41,903 confirmed cases in the UK, the Department of Health said.

The latest deaths in the UK include a further 46 people in Scotland, 13 people in Wales and eight more in Northern Ireland.

There were 212 deaths in the Midlands, more than in London, where there were 127.

Mr Gove said seven healthcare professionals have now died.

Urging people to stay at home, he called on the public to remember two NHS nurses who died on Friday after contracting Covid-19.

He said: "Each had three young children. They died doing everything they could to help the sick and suffering."

Aimee O'Rourke, 39, died at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) Hospital in Margate, Kent, while Areema Nasreen, 36, died after spending weeks in intensive care at Walsall Manor Hospital.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in self-isolation in Downing Street after testing positive for coronavirus while his pregnant partner Carrie Symonds tweeted that she has spent a week in bed with the main symptoms.

She said she had not been tested for the virus.

Prof Powis said people were adhering to social distancing measures, and that public transport use remains "extremely low".

School attendance was down as low as 2%, Mr Gove added.

However, Prof Powis added that people must "resist the temptation" to go out in the warm weather.

Brighton and Hove City Council tweeted on Saturday that too many people were meeting up with friends on the seafront, making social distancing "impossible".

Sussex Police said that two people had been summonsed to attend court after having a barbecue on Hove beach.

Mr Gove said there was "evidence to suggest" there has been a lower level of compliance for some young people.

He said it might be that some of the messages and channels the government has used have not reached some segments of the population, adding: "It may be that young people feel that they are less likely to be affected and less likely to be infected."

Also in the briefing, Mr Gove said that ventilators - in addition to those being made in the UK - had been sourced from abroad, including 300 that arrived from China on Saturday.

He said the government had also secured new non-invasive ventilation capacity with the help of UK manufacturers.

This would help to ensure patients do not need to be placed on invasive ventilators, which involve patients being intubated and supported to breathe with machinery taking oxygen directly into their lungs.

Mr Gove said 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 1,000 a day next week," he said.

He branded conspiracy theories spread on social media blaming new 5G masts for the spread of Covid-19 "dangerous nonsense".


In other developments:

Sir Keir Starmer has been elected as the new leader of the Labour Party, with members learning the outcome via e-mail after a specially planned conference was cancelled
Up to 4,000 prisoners in England and Wales could be released from jails in England and Wales early because of the coronavirus, the prison service said
Two members of staff at Pentonville Prison in north London have died after suffering from Covid-19 symptoms, according to the Prison Officers' Association
Thirteen residents at a Glasgow care home have died in one week following a suspected outbreak of coronavirus
Mobile phone masts in Birmingham and Merseyside have been set on fire over false claims linking coronavirus to 5G
Aldi has said it will lift purchase restrictions on almost all of its products from Monday - with the exception of hand wash, shower gel and UHT milk
An NHS trust has been told it will have to pay almost £10,000 a month to provide families with free phone calls during the pandemic
An increasing number of councils are instructing dog owners to ensure their pets are always on a lead in parks and open spaces
Official data on testing in hospitals suggests that England is lagging behind Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The British Embassy in Manila has announced a plan to repatriate about 600 UK nationals stuck in the Philippines, after thousands of Britons became stranded around the globe amid the pandemic
The Queen is due to make a rare special address to the nation on TV, radio and social media at 20:00 BST on Sunday

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Iranian Director Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
Israeli Airstrike Kills Nine Children of Gaza Doctor
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Erupts Again, Spewing Ash Cloud over Flores Island
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
Senate Democrats Move to Censure Trump Over Qatar Jet Gift
Hamas Releases Last Living US Hostage from Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict
×