Over 400,000 People In 24 Hours Apply To Become NHS Volunteers Amid COVID-19 - Johnson

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday has praised over 400,000 people who applied to volunteer to provide vital community assistance to the National Health Service (NHS) amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2020) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday has praised over 400,000 people who applied to volunteer to provide vital community assistance to the National Health Service (NHS) amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

During a daily press briefing alongside Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Whitty and the government's top scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, Johnson admitted that the government was initially hoping for 250,000 volunteers in a call issued by Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Tuesday.

"When we launched the appeal last night, we hoped to get 250,000 volunteers over a few days, but I can tell you that in just 24 hours, 405,000 people have responded to the call. They will be driving medicines from pharmacies to patients, they will be bringing patients home from hospital, very importantly, they will be making regular phone calls to check on and support people who are staying on their own at home," Johnson stated.

The prime minister added that these volunteers would be a crucial part of ongoing efforts to combat the spread of the disease.

In turn, Whitty stated that the acquisition of suitable number of kits to conduct tests on NHS employees currently in self-isolation, in order to allow them to return to work or to receive the treatment they needed, was a top priority for the government.

As of Tuesday, 8,077 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the UK since the start of the outbreak, an increase of 1,427 in the preceding 24 hours. The death toll has now risen to 437 after health authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Wednesday confirmed that 15 more people had died after contracting the disease.