A cabinet minister has admitted the NHS needs more gowns amid growing pressure on the government to apologise for a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline staff.
Gowns with long sleeves are required to treat patients with coronavirus.
But health officials have warned Britain is facing a shortage, while NHS hospitals have been forced to jet in their own stocks from China.
As concerns mount, nursing leaders have told staff without suitable PPE they can refuse to treat patients.
Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “There is clearly a need for more gowns. There is clearly a need for more protective equipment. And that is why we have set out a plan to demonstrate how we are going to get that.”
1/50 11 April 2020
A man jogs on an empty beach in Scarborough as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
2/50 10 April 2020
Military personnel testing people at a coronavirus test centre in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures
Reuters
3/50 9 April 2020
Posters drawn by children displayed in support of the NHS in a building near St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Getty
4/50 8 April 2020
A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
5/50 7 April 2020
A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
6/50 6 April 2020
A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
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A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
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New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
9/50 3 April 2020
Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
10/50 2 April 2020
A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
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Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
12/50 31 March 2020
Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
13/50 30 March 2020
Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
14/50 29 March 2020
Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
15/50 28 March 2020
Derbyshire Police dye the “blue lagoon” in Harpur Hill, Buxton black, as gatherings there are “dangerous” and are “in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government”
PA
16/50 27 March 2020
A road sign advising drivers to ‘stay home protect NHS saves lives’ is visible on the M80 near Banknock as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
17/50 26 March 2020
A postman wears a mask and gloves to deliver letters in Broadstairs, Kent, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday March 26, 2020. The UK’s coronavirus death toll reached 463 on Wednesday.
PA
18/50 25 March 2020
Members of the public out exercising on Brighton beach at sunset
Getty
19/50 24 March 2020
Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital
Getty
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Commuters travel on the London underground during the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
21/50 22 March 2020
People walk on the seafront after recent incidents of members of the public ignoring government advice on social distancing on in Hove
Getty
22/50 21 March 2020
A general view of an empty Trafalgar Square in London. There have as of now been 3,983 diagnosed coronavirus cases in the UK and 177 deaths
Getty
23/50 20 March 2020
Swans swim on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester
PA
24/50 19 March 2020
A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow’s street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss
PA
25/50 18 March 2020
Students tend to Spring Lambs at Moreton Morrell College in Warwickshire
PA
26/50 17 March 2020
Caerphilly Castle in South Wales joins Tourism Ireland’s Global Greenings campaign to mark St Patrick’s Day
PA
27/50 16 March 2020
Shoppers form long queues ahead of the opening of a Costco wholesale store in Chingford
Getty
28/50 15 March 2020
Players sing songs in the changing room after their game of football at Hackney Marshes in London
Reuters
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Empty shelves in the laundry aisle of an Asda store in London
PA
30/50 13 March 2020
Runners and riders compete in the JCB Triumph Hurdle during day four of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Thousands of people attended where Gold Cup day amid great uncertainty as sports events up and down the United Kingdom are postponed and cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak
PA Images via Reuters Connect
31/50 12 March 2020
A worker makes her way along rows of daffodils, removing any rogue varieties, at Taylors Bulbs in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. The fourth generation family company plant over 35 million bulbs every year, and have held The Royal Warrant as Bulb Growers to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985
PA
32/50 11 March 2020
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak poses for pictures with the Budget Box outside 11 Downing Street ahead of Britain’s first post-Brexit budget
AFP/Getty
33/50 10 March 2020
A Tate Modern gallery assistant interacts with the ‘Silver Clouds’ installation, at a press view of major new Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern, which features classic pop art pieces and works never shown before in the UK
PA
34/50 9 March 2020
The Sub Dean and Canon Paster of Southwark, Canon Michael Rawson, left, blesses the statue of Santa Barbara and workers on one of the sites of the Thames Tideway Tunnel in London. Santa Barbara is the patron saint of tunnellers and by tradition a statue and shrine to her is placed at tunnel portals and the entrance to long tunnel headings to keep workers safe while underground. The 16 mile-long Thames Tideway Tunnel will prevent tens of millions of tonnes of sewage and rainwater run-off entering the river every year
PA
35/50 8 March 2020
An Afghan Hound dog is prepared for show at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC) during the final day of the Crufts Dog Show
PA
36/50 7 March 2020
People taking part in the Million Women Rise march through central London, to demand an end to male violence against women and girls in all its forms
PA
37/50 6 March 2020
Crew members take a selfie beside the cab of The Flying Scotswoman, the LNER Edinburgh to London rail service which has an all-female crew to celebrate International Women’s Day, before it departs Edinburgh Waverley station
PA
38/50 5 March 2020
A poodle arrives for the first day of Crufts 2020 in Birmingham
Jason Skarratt/Flick.digital
39/50 4 March 2020
An Emergency Department Nurse during a demonstration of the Coronavirus pod and Covid-19 virus testing procedures set-up beside the Emergency Department of Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland
PA
40/50 3 March 2020
A pedestrian wears a protective facemask while taking a bus in Westminster, London, on the day that Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 51
PA
41/50 2 March 2020
An artist at Madame Tussauds in London fits the museum’s waxwork of Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a baby carrier, following the recent announcement that he is expecting a baby with partner Carrie Symonds
PA
42/50 1 March 2020
A man dressed as Dewi Sant leads the St David’s day parade in Cardiff, where hundreds of people march through the city in celebration of the patron saint of Wales. Dewi Sant (Saint David in English) was the Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century
PA
43/50 29 February 2020
A home flooded after the River Aire burst its banks in East Cowick, East Yorkshire
Getty
44/50 28 February 2020
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a “Youth Strike 4 Climate” protest march in Bristol, south west England. “Activism works, so I ask you to act,” she said
AFP/Getty
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Campaigners cheer outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after they won a Court of Appeal challenge against controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow
PA
46/50 26 February 2020
Temporary barriers have been overwhelmed by flood water in Bewdley, Shropshire
Getty
47/50 25 February 2020
Players take part in the Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire. The game honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball, and which was won by Warwickshire
PA
48/50 24 February 2020
A couple shelter from waves crashing over the promenade in Folkestone, Kent, as bad weather continues to cause problems across the country
PA
49/50 23 February 2020
Viking re-enactors during the Jorvik Viking Festival in York, recognised as the largest event of its kind in Europe
PA
50/50 22 February 2020
Former Greek Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and editor in chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsonn attend a protest against the extradition of Julian Assange outside the Australian High Commission in London
Reuters
1/50 11 April 2020
A man jogs on an empty beach in Scarborough as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
2/50 10 April 2020
Military personnel testing people at a coronavirus test centre in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures
Reuters
3/50 9 April 2020
Posters drawn by children displayed in support of the NHS in a building near St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Getty
4/50 8 April 2020
A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
5/50 7 April 2020
A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
6/50 6 April 2020
A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
7/50 5 April 2020
A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
8/50 4 March 2020
New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
9/50 3 April 2020
Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
10/50 2 April 2020
A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
11/50 1 April 2020
Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
12/50 31 March 2020
Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
13/50 30 March 2020
Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
14/50 29 March 2020
Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
15/50 28 March 2020
Derbyshire Police dye the “blue lagoon” in Harpur Hill, Buxton black, as gatherings there are “dangerous” and are “in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government”
PA
16/50 27 March 2020
A road sign advising drivers to ‘stay home protect NHS saves lives’ is visible on the M80 near Banknock as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
17/50 26 March 2020
A postman wears a mask and gloves to deliver letters in Broadstairs, Kent, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday March 26, 2020. The UK’s coronavirus death toll reached 463 on Wednesday.
PA
18/50 25 March 2020
Members of the public out exercising on Brighton beach at sunset
Getty
19/50 24 March 2020
Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital
Getty
20/50 23 March 2020
Commuters travel on the London underground during the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
21/50 22 March 2020
People walk on the seafront after recent incidents of members of the public ignoring government advice on social distancing on in Hove
Getty
22/50 21 March 2020
A general view of an empty Trafalgar Square in London. There have as of now been 3,983 diagnosed coronavirus cases in the UK and 177 deaths
Getty
23/50 20 March 2020
Swans swim on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester
PA
24/50 19 March 2020
A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow’s street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss
PA
25/50 18 March 2020
Students tend to Spring Lambs at Moreton Morrell College in Warwickshire
PA
26/50 17 March 2020
Caerphilly Castle in South Wales joins Tourism Ireland’s Global Greenings campaign to mark St Patrick’s Day
PA
27/50 16 March 2020
Shoppers form long queues ahead of the opening of a Costco wholesale store in Chingford
Getty
28/50 15 March 2020
Players sing songs in the changing room after their game of football at Hackney Marshes in London
Reuters
29/50 14 March 2020
Empty shelves in the laundry aisle of an Asda store in London
PA
30/50 13 March 2020
Runners and riders compete in the JCB Triumph Hurdle during day four of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Thousands of people attended where Gold Cup day amid great uncertainty as sports events up and down the United Kingdom are postponed and cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak
PA Images via Reuters Connect
31/50 12 March 2020
A worker makes her way along rows of daffodils, removing any rogue varieties, at Taylors Bulbs in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. The fourth generation family company plant over 35 million bulbs every year, and have held The Royal Warrant as Bulb Growers to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985
PA
32/50 11 March 2020
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak poses for pictures with the Budget Box outside 11 Downing Street ahead of Britain’s first post-Brexit budget
AFP/Getty
33/50 10 March 2020
A Tate Modern gallery assistant interacts with the ‘Silver Clouds’ installation, at a press view of major new Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern, which features classic pop art pieces and works never shown before in the UK
PA
34/50 9 March 2020
The Sub Dean and Canon Paster of Southwark, Canon Michael Rawson, left, blesses the statue of Santa Barbara and workers on one of the sites of the Thames Tideway Tunnel in London. Santa Barbara is the patron saint of tunnellers and by tradition a statue and shrine to her is placed at tunnel portals and the entrance to long tunnel headings to keep workers safe while underground. The 16 mile-long Thames Tideway Tunnel will prevent tens of millions of tonnes of sewage and rainwater run-off entering the river every year
PA
35/50 8 March 2020
An Afghan Hound dog is prepared for show at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC) during the final day of the Crufts Dog Show
PA
36/50 7 March 2020
People taking part in the Million Women Rise march through central London, to demand an end to male violence against women and girls in all its forms
PA
37/50 6 March 2020
Crew members take a selfie beside the cab of The Flying Scotswoman, the LNER Edinburgh to London rail service which has an all-female crew to celebrate International Women’s Day, before it departs Edinburgh Waverley station
PA
38/50 5 March 2020
A poodle arrives for the first day of Crufts 2020 in Birmingham
Jason Skarratt/Flick.digital
39/50 4 March 2020
An Emergency Department Nurse during a demonstration of the Coronavirus pod and Covid-19 virus testing procedures set-up beside the Emergency Department of Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland
PA
40/50 3 March 2020
A pedestrian wears a protective facemask while taking a bus in Westminster, London, on the day that Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 51
PA
41/50 2 March 2020
An artist at Madame Tussauds in London fits the museum’s waxwork of Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a baby carrier, following the recent announcement that he is expecting a baby with partner Carrie Symonds
PA
42/50 1 March 2020
A man dressed as Dewi Sant leads the St David’s day parade in Cardiff, where hundreds of people march through the city in celebration of the patron saint of Wales. Dewi Sant (Saint David in English) was the Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century
PA
43/50 29 February 2020
A home flooded after the River Aire burst its banks in East Cowick, East Yorkshire
Getty
44/50 28 February 2020
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a “Youth Strike 4 Climate” protest march in Bristol, south west England. “Activism works, so I ask you to act,” she said
AFP/Getty
45/50 27 February 2020
Campaigners cheer outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after they won a Court of Appeal challenge against controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow
PA
46/50 26 February 2020
Temporary barriers have been overwhelmed by flood water in Bewdley, Shropshire
Getty
47/50 25 February 2020
Players take part in the Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire. The game honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball, and which was won by Warwickshire
PA
48/50 24 February 2020
A couple shelter from waves crashing over the promenade in Folkestone, Kent, as bad weather continues to cause problems across the country
PA
49/50 23 February 2020
Viking re-enactors during the Jorvik Viking Festival in York, recognised as the largest event of its kind in Europe
PA
50/50 22 February 2020
Former Greek Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and editor in chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsonn attend a protest against the extradition of Julian Assange outside the Australian High Commission in London
Reuters
Companies which can manufacture PPE in the UK are being asked to sign up to the fight against Covid-19.
But Mr Sharma refused to apologise for problems with the supply of PPE, saying that he was “sorry for the loss of any life during this pandemic”.
Later he added: “I’m incredibly sorry that people feel they are not able to get this equipment.”
On Saturday Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, came under fire when she expressed similar sentiments, saying she was “sorry if people feel there have been failings” on PPE.
Mr Sharma’s comments came just after Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and an adviser to the government, warned that the UK was “likely to be certainly one of the worst, if not the worst affected, country in Europe (by coronavirus)”.
The Royal College of Nursing has said nurses without suitable PPE can refuse to treat patients.
Mr Sharma conceded that no medical progressional should be placed in a situation where they “have to make that choice”, during an appearance on Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News.
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He also refused to say whether or not it had been right for the Government to allow the Cheltenham horse racing festival to go ahead when the coronavirus-related death rate in Italy had already reached 200 people a day, saying ministers had followed the scientific advice.
Sir Keir Starmer, the new Labour leader, said it would be “smart” of the Government to acknowledge their ambitions for the supply of PPE have not been matched, adding: “And probably just to apologise for that and get on with it.”
He also called for underpaid staff in the health service to receive pay rises in the wake of the global pandemic.
And he did not rule out a future Labour government raising taxes to deal with the economic impact of coronavirus.
It has been announced that three more nurses have died due to Covid-19, bringing the total of NHS staff now thought to have died with the virus to 30.
On Saturday morning, Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, paid tribute to those who had died, as he announced what was then a total of 19 deaths.
He said: “My heart goes out to their families, these are people who have put themselves on the front line.
“The work is going on to establish whether they caught coronavirus in the line of duty while at work or whether, like so many other people, caught it in the rest of their lives.”
Separately, the Royal College of Anaesthetists has told the BBC some key medicines used in intensive care are “in relatively short supply”.