London has enough hospital beds, says Khan, as Boris Johnson remains in intensive care

The archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to reiterate his decision to close churches in England after some members of the C of E have challenged the policy.

In a video posted on YouTube, Justin Welby set out five reasons for the church closures. The first was to “set an example” in following the government’s “simple and ethical” public health message.

Second, churches were merely buildings; “the church is the people of God”. Third, clergy and bishops should share “the inconveniencing, the restrictions, the isolations imposed on us. It’s about being part of the flock rather than some super special category that can do its own thing.”

Fourth, he said, the Church of England was the church for England. “If you’re there for everyone, it means you have to think about everyone”.

His final reason was: “It’s not just about us, the believers – it’s about everyone.” Online services were being accessed by “vast numbers … they are a way of reaching out.”

Earlier this week, Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London and the number three in the C of E hierarchy, wrote to clergy in her diocese telling them they could conduct services in their own church to live stream to congregations.

She later clarified in a tweet that clergy had been “clearly instructed” to close churches.

Others have argued that churches should remain open for private prayer and reflection.

The former Conservative foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said he does not think the nationwide lockdown restrictions will be lifted next week.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World at One, the chairman of the Commons Health and Social Care Select committee said: “As we’ve seen from Italy and other countries, you don’t get a peak and then an immediate reduction, you stay at that peak level for some time.”

He added: “I think it’s perfectly reasonable to say that the lockdown is going to need to continue for a while and we don’t need to take this decision at the beginning of next week.”

The WhatsApp message, which purports to be someone who works at the service makes a series of claims that from Thursday ambulances will not make call-outs to people at home suffering from Covid-19 related, that ice rinks are being used as makeshift morgues, and that a third of the deaths in coming weeks will be babies, children and teenagers with no underlying health issues.

While it isn’t possible to precisely forecast who may be affected by Covid-19, so far no country in the world has seen mortality rates from the coronavirus that have led to a third of the victims being young people.

The service’s statement goes on to say “In line with our ongoing plans during this challenging time, we are continuing to follow national guidelines regarding the ambulance response and thank the public for their ongoing support in following the government’s advice.”

Nicola Sturgeon has announced a dedicated email address for health and social care workers to report directly to the Scottish government their worries about PPE.

Addressing continuing concerns from healthcare professionals and care workers about the supply and adequacy of PPE, Sturgeon said that her health secretary Jeane Freeman and deputy first minister John Swinney would be meeting the local government association COSLA and other unions this afternoon to discuss in particular care workers’ provision.

Sturgeon said that she believed part of the issue was about building confidence in workers who were not familiar with using the kit, to assure them that the PPE being used currently was adequate.

Freeman insisted that all kit met WHO guidelines and that supplies were adequate for demand, and that “there is no reason why the supplies that we have are not reaching health and social care workers”.

Second Nightingale hospital to open in Birmingham on Friday

The second NHS Nightingale hospital, which has been built at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, is to be opened on Friday, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said that it would initially have 500 beds to treat coronavirus patients, with the capacity to expand to 2,000.

“Huge credit should go to all those involved in getting the hospital set up so quickly,” the spokesman said.

He added that the third Nightingale Hospital in Manchester was expected to open in “the next week or so”.