CORONAVIRUS NEWS

A survey of over 2,513 members of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has revealed that only 31% of its members are able to access COVID-19 testing for themselves if they have symptoms.

The new NICE guidelines cover the provision of radiotherapy services and bone marrow transplant during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is working closely with Formula 1 and a collective of UK-based teams, engine manufacturers and their respective technology arms as part of Project Pitlane to co-ordinate work in scaling up ventilator production for patients with coronavirus.

A new project has been launched to unite engineers from across the world to help solve challenges deriving from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Government and the UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser have backed UK clinicians and scientists to map how COVID-19 spreads and behaves by using whole genome sequencing.

Engineers and medical staff from the University of Southampton are testing a prototype of a personal respirator they have developed for frontline healthcare staff tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. If the tests are successful, they hope it will solve the limitations of existing protective equipment doctors and nurses are wearing on the wards.

A team of scientists at the University of Southampton have announced a trial of an inhaled drug that may help people reduce the symptoms of COVID-19. This trial is being supported by the NIHR through its Respiratory Translational Research Collaboration (R-TRC).

A Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device could provide an alternative breathing aid to help COVID-19 patients with serious lung infections, without the need to use invasive ventilators – according a team of engineers and clinicians, from Formula 1 and UCLH.

Individuals taking a class of steroid hormones called glucocorticoids for conditions such as asthma, allergies and arthritis on a routine basis may be unable to mount a normal stress response and are at high risk if they are infected with the virus causing COVID-19, according to a new editorial published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

​China's control measures during the first 50 days of the COVID-19 epidemic may have delayed the spread of the virus to cities outside of Wuhan by several days and, by interrupting transmission nationwide, prevented more than 700,000 infections across the country, according to an international team of researchers.

The Royal College of Physicians has published ethical guidance for frontline staff dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, supported by more than a dozen other royal colleges and health organisations.

The General Medical Council (GMC) has today (Friday 27 March) granted temporary registration to 11,856 doctors who had left the profession, following an official request by the UK Government.

Dr. Andrew Kemp JP PhD, a specialist in disinfection and decontamination, is calling on public bodies to conduct independent testing on disinfectants and hand sanitisers to identify the most effective methods of tackling COVID-19.

An Italian town is reported to have eradicated coronavirus through early and widespread diagnosis and testing. Wesley Baker, the CEO of a manufacturer of a 'breath test' for COVID-19, argues that this shows the impact of mass screening. He is calling on the UK to speed up efforts to test and diagnose as many people as possible.

The outbreak of COVID-19 would likely have caused 40 million deaths this year in the absence of any preventative measures.

Over 400,000 people have already signed up to volunteer for the NHS to help in its fight against coronavirus.

A Warwick-based medical supplies is answering a national call to support the increased delivery of PPE products to the NHS. Warwick Sasco, which is based on the Heathcote Industrial Estate, supplies plastic medical devices that can be sterilised and, in the last 12 months, has dispatched seven million products worldwide.

Interfurn is now offering a full bio-decontamination service for hospitals and other healthcare facilities, where there may be a high-level biological contamination risk. Interfurn’s BIOAct-365 Decontamination Service is particularly useful for facilities treating patients during the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and is available as a rapid emergency response, or as part of a planned cleaning and maintenance programme.

New personal and protective equipment (PPE) guidance from the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) and British Association of Oral Surgeons (BAOS) advises surgeons on how to treat patients with emergency oral and dental conditions efficiently and safely.

Public Health England (PHE) scientists are playing a critical role in international efforts to find coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.