A total of 19 National Health Service (NHS) workers in the United Kingdom has died after contracting COVID-19, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Saturday, adding that none of the deaths was linked to the shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE).
"Nineteen people have died from the NHS family. For them, it's a heartbreaking story and I know that it affects everybody who works in the NHS to see their colleagues die. I think that the important thing is to work out to what extent people have contracted it in the line of duty so to speak," Hancock said during a televised appearance on the BBC's Breakfast program.
The Health Secretary expressed the government's belief that none of the deaths was due to the reported shortages in PPE. "We aren't aware of any link from shortages of PPE to any of these deaths," he stated.
During his appearance on the state broadcaster, Hancock also urged medical professionals to use the right amount of PPE in order to prevent wastage, in line with a new UK-wide plan announced on Friday to ensure supplies of protective equipment.
Newly-elected Labour Party leader Keir Starmer slammed the Health Secretary for implying that medical professionals are wasting equipment.
"It is quite frankly insulting to imply frontline staff are wasting PPE. There are horrific stories of NHS staff and care workers not having the equipment they need to keep them safe. The Government must act to ensure supplies are delivered," Starmer wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
The COVID-19 toll in the UK rose by 980 over the previous day to 8,958, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Friday. A total of 73,758 positive tests for the disease have been registered since the start of the outbreak in the country.
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