Countdown to lockdown: Covid in Cornwall’s news on March 15, 2020

This was turning out to be no ordinary Sunday. With talk of how many people had died due to the pandemic becoming more of a familiarity, we were informed that at this point (March 15, 2020), the UK death toll from coronavirus had risen from 21 to 35.

With countries starting to announce they were planning to close borders, by this point our government was poised to introduce further measures. They included shutting schools and pubs, with the Army stocking shelves.

Thousands of British troops were put on standby to help keep the UK functioning in case coronavirus hit its peak in the coming months.

In the run-up to March 23, which is the fifth anniversary of the first lockdown being called, CornwallLive will be revisiting the headlines which our reporters covered from the time.

Here’s how CornwallLive reported the Covid news on March 15, 2020.

There were five cases confirmed in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, making it a total of 61 in the South West. Despite this, a huge Norwegian cruise ship was announced to have docked in Cornwall.

Crowds turned out to watch the huge MS Fridtjof Nansen arrive in Fowey. She belongs to cruise company Hurtigruten and arrived as part of its showcase voyage, which gave guests the chance to be amongst the very first to sail on her – prior even to her inaugural trip from Hamburg, at the beginning of April.z

Confirmation that the 681-person liner was still to visit Cornwall came as Princess Cruises announced that it will be suspending global operations on its 18 cruise ships for 60 days due to coronavirus. A statement from Hurtigruten stated: “Since health and safety is our number one priority, we have implemented several preventive measures on board in response to the outbreak.”

Read the full story here

Massive cruise ship arrives in Cornwall to huge crowds

The popular annual event Camborne Trevithick Day, which was due to take place in April, was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. The community festival offers free entertainment in the main streets of Camborne which are closed for the day, and attracts some 25,000 to 30,000 visitors.

The Trevithick Day Committee announced that following a meeting on Friday evening, they have made the ‘tough decision’ to cancel this year’s Trevithick Day, which was due to take place on April 25.

Read the full story here

Camborne Trevithick Day is cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak

Other CornwallLive headlines on March 15, 2020

– Wetherspoons assured customers after Cornwall staff member develops coronavirus symptoms. By this point a number of staff were self-isolating.

– Ryanair, Virgin, British Airways, easyJet and many more were forced to cancel certain flights as the pandemic took hold. Countries severely affected by the virus, including China and Italy, cancelled air travel in and out and the US extended its travel ban to include the UK and Ireland.

– Supermarkets asked shoppers not to panic-buy due to coronavirus and urged everyone to ‘work together’. Retail giants such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl and Aldi issued joint letters, insisting there was enough food for everyone ‘if we all work together.’

– A picture of two men loading up a trolley with beer while dressed in protective coveralls appeared online. The image taken in the aisle of a Tesco store in Yorkshire was published on Facebook. The person who took the photograph said he couldn’t believe his eyes.

He said: “I just couldn’t believe what they were stockpiling, but I guess it’s best to be safe than sorry. I walked down the aisle and they were putting loads of beer in it – looks like they didn’t want to take any chances with coronavirus. They were dressed up in the hazmat suits with two masks over the face.”

– It was confirmed the president of the United States Donald Trump tested negative for the coronavirus after he came in contact with two people who have the virus. During a Saturday news conference, Trump said he took the test on Friday and the results were announced in a statement from the White House.

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– The latest figures showed 14 more people have died in the UK after testing positive for the virus, bringing total deaths to 35. By this point there had been a total of 1,372 positive tests for coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Sunday, up from 1,140 at the same time on Saturday, the Department of Health said.

– The UK Government was reportedly considering resorting to tougher measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. They included people aged over 70 being instructed to self-isolate, gathering of more than 500 people being banned and potentially converting buildings into temporary hospitals.

– It was reported that the NHS was to buy beds in private hospitals as part of a plan enacted by the Prime Minister amid fears the coronavirus is spreading faster than planned.

– The NHS and private providers planned to “join forces” following fears the publicly funded hospitals will not be able to cope with the number of patients.

– Boris Johnson urges factories to make thousands of respirators.

– Reports that the Army will be brought in to guard supermarkets and hospitals lead the Mail on Sunday, with the paper also saying over 70s will be asked to stay in isolation.

– The Sunday Mirror reports 8,000 beds will be brought by the NHS as the country declares “war” on the virus.

Countdown to lockdown: Covid in Cornwall’s news on March 11, 2020

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Countdown to lockdown: Covid in Cornwall’s news on March 14, 2020

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