NEWS
Coronavirus
Health minister diagnosed with coronavirus Health minister Nadine Dorries has been diagnosed with coronavirus. Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire, first showed symptoms on 5 March – the same day she attended an event hosted by the prime minister at
Downing Street. Dorries is now self-isolating at home. Ten people with the virus have died in the UK, which has reported a total of 800 cases. More than 26,260 people have been tested for the virus in the UK.
The government announced last-minute measures in its first Budget in response to the effect the outbreak is likely to have on the UK economy. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said the NHS will get “whatever
resources it needs” during the crisis. In addition, the Bank of England announced an emergency cut in interest rates from 0.75% to 0.25% in response to the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
for covid-19. The health and wellbeing of the people we support, and our members of staff, is our absolute priority. We are working closely with Public Health England and following their instructions.” The announcement follows another case of coronavirus that was confirmed on 12 March at Oakridge House Care Home in Basingstoke, Hampshire. The home has since been closed to visitors
after the person tested positive for the virus and was taken to hospital for treatment. Hampshire County Council could not confirm whether the patient was a resident or staff member. Ten people with the virus have died in the UK. There are currently 596 confirmed cases in the UK, up from 456 on Wednesday. More than 26,260 people have been tested for the virus in the UK.
Care homes battle virus A case of coronavirus has been confirmed at Oakridge House Care Home in Basingstoke, Hampshire. The home has since been closed to visitors after the person tested positive for the virus and was taken to hospital for treatment. Hampshire County Council could not confirm whether the patient was a resident or staff member. Meanwhile, a member of staff at Heather Holmes in
Northamptonshire has tested positive for coronavirus. The care home, located in Desborough, provides care for up to 12 people and specialises in supporting those with learning disabilities and autism. It is run by Consensus, part of the Caring Homes Group. A Heather Holmes spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a member of staff has tested positive
BATM develops new diagnostics kit to detect covid-19 BATM, a provider of technologies for medical laboratory systems, has developed a new diagnostics kit to detect covid-19. The kit, developed by BATM’s biomedical division, has undergone testing by several central laboratories and hospitals that have now verified its ability to diagnose covid-19. The group has begun production of the kit at its Adaltis facility in Rome and is working with academic and
research institutions, mainly in Europe, to prepare for large-scale production. The kit, which supports all the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, has already received interest from customers in several countries. Zvi Marom, chief executive officer of BATM, said: “We believe that the strategy we adopted in our biomedical division is proving to be correct, especially in light
of the current covid-19 outbreak. We are now able to quickly provide diagnostic kits for any new pathogen that appears.” He added: “We have already received extremely positive feedback and significant interest from several leading medical institutions that have started testing the first panel of Ador’s NATlab solution and adding covid-19 will greatly strengthen its appeal and value.”
PLMR launches coronavirus advisory team PLMR, a communications agency specialising in the health and social care sector, has launched a coronavirus advisory team to advise its clients on reputation management and corporate communications following growing concerns around the outbreak. London-based PLMR, which represents more than 2,000
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healthcare and education facilities, has for several weeks been advising clients who are responding to and managing the emerging outbreak, also known as covid-19. This includes supporting clients to communicate with staff, customers, patients, residents, parents, stakeholders and regulators to provide clear communications that reassure and
outline contingency plans that are in place. Nathan Hollow, head of health and social care at PLMR, who is leading the coronavirus advisory team, said: “Over recent weeks our consultants have been at the forefront of decision-making and communicating around this outbreak, operating at pace and with precision to make sure our
clients can proactively engage their stakeholders and ensure business continuity. This is particularly important in the health and social care sector, given the many vulnerable people being supported across the country and the very understandable concern their loved ones may feel at the risk covid-19 poses to the continuity of healthcare services.”
HealthInvestor UK • April 2020
