Coronavirus: Relatives to be permitted to visit dying in Britain

Close relatives will be able to visit people dying of the coronavirus in British hospitals and nursing homes under a new plan outlined by health secretary Matt Hancock on Wednesday. Mr Hancock said he wept when he heard about the death of Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, a 13-year-old boy whose family were not allowed to visit him in his last hours.

“Wanting to be with someone you love at the end of their life is one of the deepest human instincts and it’s a moment that will be with you forever,” he said.

"Done right, it can help those left behind to cope and it brings comfort to those who are dying. Coronavirus, of course, has made this much more difficult, and I've been really moved and upset by some of the heartbreaking stories of people dying without a loved one nearby."

Spend time

The health secretary said the rules would be changed to allow close relatives to spend time with those who are dying “where possible” but he did not offer details of how it would work. Deaths from coronavirus in nursing homes are not in the official count in Britain but 2,000 homes have reported outbreaks – 13 per cent of the total.

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In hospitals, 12,868 people have died of the virus, an increase of 761 over the previous 24 hours. The daily death tolls have been lower in recent days than at the end of last week but chief medical officer Chris Whitty said he expected bigger numbers in the days ahead.

“After every weekend we see a dip over the weekend and for the two days afterwards and then an increase as we catch up with the numbers. After a long four-day weekend, there may well be a bounce-up tomorrow. I think it is very important we don’t get to the point where we say, look at the numbers of deaths – that means we have passed the peak,” he said.

High numbers

“But we do all think that this has flattened out. Sadly we do think that high numbers of deaths will continue, certainly for a short while on from where we are at the moment. So I think at the moment we are not yet at the point where we can say confidently and safely this is now past the peak and we can start thinking very much about the next phases.”

The government is expected to announce an extension of social distancing measures on Thursday for at least three weeks but Labour leader Keir Starmer called on ministers to publish the outline of an exit strategy from the lockdown.

“Mass testing and then tracing is likely to be amongst the options for ending the lockdown,” he told the BBC.

“If that is right, we need the government to say so because decisions need to be taken now to make sure that the number of tests that are needed and that the arrangements are in place so they can be implemented at the relevant time.”