The UK Government has said all parts of the country is on 'emergency footing' during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Talking during today's briefing Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said it would be an 'unprecedented step' for Britain during peacetime and is unlike anything the Government has had to do since World War II.
The emergency footing, a status usually reserved for when a nation is under a state of war, will aim to bring emergency services closer together.
He added: "This means that we are establishing strategic co-ordination centres across the whole country. Each centre is led by gold commanders.
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"We are bringing together senior members of the emergency services, the police, fire and ambulance service, with local authorities and the NHS, to lead communities through this challenging period."
He went on to say that members of the armed forces as well as 'some of the finest military planners in the world' were working with these groups across the country to come up with a 'local response' to covid-19.
"They will be using their expertise, judgement and leadership to ensure a comprehensive, coordinated and consistent response across the country," he continued.
Jenrick said the Government 'will not stop' to get personal protective equipment (PPE) to those who need it most.
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"We simply cannot and should not ask people to be on the front line without the right protective equipment," he added.
Before revealing some updated numbers on the amount of PPE already sent out - including 42.8 million gloves, 142,000 gowns and 2.3 million pairs of eye protectors delivered to 58,000 'health care settings' such as hospitals and GP surgeries.
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The Housing Secretary also thanked the thousands of hard-working front line NHS staff, before giving a special thanks to all those who have signed up to become Voluntary NHS Responders.
He said: "I think we've all been moved by the number of people who have signed up to be one of the Voluntary NHS Responders.
"Today we can announce an extraordinary three-quarters-of-a-million people have signed up to do that."
"In every city, in every town, in every village there's going to be work to be done and in each of us there is the power to do it. And so please take part - please play your part. Please consider your friends, you family, your neighbours when you're shopping. Please call the elderly and support them.
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"When this is done - and it will be done - we all want to be proud of the part we have played together."
It's okay to not panic. LADbible and UNILAD's aim with our Coronavirus campaign, Cutting Through, is to provide our community with facts and stories from the people who are either qualified to comment or have experienced first-hand the situation we're facing. For more information from the World Health Organization on Coronavirus, click here.
Topics: uk news, Coronavirus