Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Image source, Getty Images

Pret a Manger will reopen 10 shop kitchens near London hospitals from Thursday after 160 workers volunteered to help out.

NHS workers will get half-price food until the end of April, Pret said.

The company's chief executive officer Pano Christou wrote in a blog post that NHS workers and hospitals want to be able to get "freshly made food nearby".

The chain said in a statement: "This allows us to also get our supply chain up and running to donate food to homeless charities, so we will be donating 7,000 additional meals per week to our homeless charity partners."

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Free anxiety sessions are being offered to NHS workers in the capital by a London rapid-change therapist.

Howard Cooper, external, who has 17 years experience as a therapist and specialises in tackling people's phobias, will be hosting a series of online sessions aimed at helping hospital and other healthcare workers deal with the stress of worrying about catching coronavirus.

The 38-year-old (pictured) said he wanted to help any workers who had feelings of fear and anxiety caused by concerns of coronavirus and to help staff deal with other pressures and feelings of being judged.

“At this time, nobody deserves our support more than our brave NHS health and social care key workers," Mr Cooper said.

"As well as putting themselves at risk through work, they are also surely suffering acute work-related mental stress and strains.

“I hope to help those who feel the need for extra support."

It comes after the NHS launched a hotline to support and advise healthcare staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

Volunteers from charities including Hospice UK, the Samaritans and Shout, will listen to concerns and offer psychological support.

The phone line for England will be open between 07:00 and 23:00 every day, while the text service will be available around the clock.

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Fifteen NHS Trusts in London are now known to have recorded more than 100 deaths linked to coronavirus, according to NHS data.

University College London and Guy's and St Thomas' Trusts are the latest to reach triple figures with 105 and 103 patients known to have died from Covid-19 respectively.

The Royal Free Trust still has the most in London (335) followed by the London North Western University Trust (327) which saw a further 28 deaths announced by NHS England yesterday afternoon.

London has now recorded 3,224 deaths which are linked to Covid-19.

BBC London

These black cabs are helping the NHS by driving coronavirus patients to clinics.

Labour says it will support an extension but calls for details on how and when the lockdown will end.

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Image source, Jason Hawkes

Croydon has become the second borough in London to reach more than 1,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, official figures show.

Public Health England said Croydon had recorded 1,006 on Wednesday - only Brent (1,063) has more in the capital.

The south London borough has seen a sharp increase in positive infections in recent weeks - at the start of the month Croydon had 380 confirmed cases.

The current picture across the rest of the capital appears to show that social distancing measures are working.

London currently has 18,951 confirmed cases of coronavirus which is an increase of 480 compared to the previous 24 hours.

Image source, Getty Images

Takeaway food chains in the UK are planning to reopen some stores closed during the pandemic.

Pret a Manger has said it will reopen 10 stores close to hospitals in London for takeaway and delivery only and will be offering a 50% discount to NHS workers.

Pret chief executive Pano Christou said the move "will help give frontline healthcare workers better access to freshly prepared food".

Fast food-chain KFC has reopened 11 stores for delivery over the last week and will consider opening more but a spokeswoman said "if we can’t do it responsibly – we won’t do it all".

Burger King is rumoured to be considering a similar move.

Saracens furlough all players and the majority of the club’s staff, and ask high earners to defer a portion of their salaries.

They are believed to be linked to a gang known to offer fake scholarships to trick victims to the UK.

Two weeks after liberation, 95 London medical students arrived at Belsen to help care for survivors.

The Metropolitan Police has issued hundreds of fixed penalty notices (FPN) after individuals were found in breach of coronavirus regulations.

Image source, Met Police

Powers to fine people were introduced by the government under emergency legislation designed to help reduce the impact of the pandemic.The Met said it was expecting the figure to total several hundred.Assistant commissioner Mark Simmons said: "The vast majority of people are following government regulations."However there is a small minority of people who despite every effort to engage, explain and encourage are refusing to follow instructions."In these rare cases officers have used their new powers in order to protect the NHS and keep people safe."The Metropolitan Police is in great shape and against a backdrop of falling demand we remain absolutely determined to focus on protecting the public and supporting the health authorities.

"Officers continue to bear down on violence and are highly visible on the streets and open spaces as well as responding to urgent calls for assistance," he said.

The force said crime was down by 32% reduction in London while fewer people have been dialling 999 and making non-emergency calls.

Tim Stokes
BBC News

Image source, PA Media

While smaller independent museums and attractions are considered most at risk of being lost due to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on their finances, even those which receive government grants have said they are facing money issues.

Royal Museums Greenwich, external, which includes the famous Cutty Sark, receives direct government funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

However, about 45% of its income comes from commercial activities such as admission fees, retail and cafeteria sales.

Director Paddy Rodgers told the BBC the lockdown had therefore meant "our revenue is severely compromised" and "we are aware that most of the cultural sector is in the same position".

He added that while it is closed, "the museum continues its work and has an exciting ongoing offer through its website and social media channels and will be ready to reopen at the earliest opportunity with a program to attract, stimulate and satisfy our visitors".

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A further 35 patients have died from coronavirus over Easter at hospitals run by Imperial College NHS Trust.

According to the latest data released by NHS England four patients died on Bank Holiday Monday. On Easter Sunday, 11 patients passed away.

There were also 14 deaths on Easter Saturday, with six on Good Friday.

Overall 224 patients have died at the trust’s hospitals in just over a month, since March 11 when it recorded its first death.

Hospitals in London are recording the highest number of deaths, with 3,071 passing away in the capital.

The Midlands records the second highest number with 2,289 fatalities at hospitals in the region.

Imperial College NHS Trust’s hospitals include Charing Cross in Fulham, Hammersmith, St Mary’s in Paddington, Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea as well as the Western Eye Hospital.

It has already increased its critical care and ventilator beds at its three main hospitals from 68 to 143 and plans more.

Throughout the UK, 778 people died in hospital on Bank Holiday Monday, taking the total number of people who died in hospital from coronavirus since the crisis began to 12,107.

The Office of National Statistics revealed 16,000 deaths registered in the week ending on April 3, 6,000 more than expected. The ONS estimates that a fifth of these were due to coronavirus.

Image source, LFB

London Fire Brigade (LFB) have warned that many historic venues in London still have no up-to-date emergency response salvage plans in place which could be used during a major fire like that which occurred at Notre Dame cathedral a year ago.

The brigade wrote to 351 different venues following the blaze at the Parisian cathedral to urge them to look at how best to protect their buildings and precious items in the event of a fire.

A salvage plan provided to fire crews means firefighters have a strategy for their operations so they can identify the priority items that need to be removed from the building, along with other important information such as the size of the items and their exact locations.

Image source, LFB

Such planning was used during a large blaze at the Law Society in February.

Tom Booton, the building's head of corporate real estate, said he was able to explain to the incident commander at the time "about what was and wasn’t important within the building so he could focus his resources", meaning historic legal text books and case law from the 16th century were saved.

An LFB spokeswoman said an "encouraging number of venues" had responded to the brigade's initial letters but "there are still many venues we haven’t heard from".

LFB's Heritage Team Leader William Knatchbull said: "We’re lucky to have so many beautiful historic buildings in London and we need to make sure they are treasured by generations to come.

“Currently many special buildings are closed to the public, so it’s even more imperative to get salvage plans in place."

Sam Francis
BBC News, London

Nearly half of all deaths in London are linked to coronavirus, twice the national average, figures show.

The Office for National Statistics said in the week ending 3 April the virus was cited on 3,475 death certificates across England, which was 21% of all deaths

In London 1,170 death certificates involved Covid-19, out of 2,511 deaths, or roughly 47%.

The capital now accounts for a third of all coronavirus deaths in England and Wales,despite accounting for only 15% of the population.

Coronavirus has pushed the total number of deaths in the week ending 3 April to over 16,000 - a record high and 6,000 more than normal at this time of year when deaths tend to fall.

It comes after industry bosses in the UK said daily death tolls are "airbrushing out" hundreds of older people who have died in the care system.

Image source, bbc

Tim Stokes
BBC News

Image source, FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE MUSEUM

Some of the UK's attractions and museums will be lost due to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on their finances, arts bodies have warned.

Independent institutions that usually depend on entrance fees and are not backed by regular grants or funding are thought to be most at risk.

One of those in London is the Florence Nightingale Museum, located on the site of St Thomas' Hospital.

Its director, David Green, said they faced an "absolutely huge challenge" to stay afloat having suddenly lost almost their entire income stream.

This year they had been expecting a particularly busy year and invested money from their reserves for a special exhibition marking 200 years since the nurse's birth, but it was shut days after opening as the lockdown began.

"Evidence-based nursing and the use of data like is currently being done is such a Nightingale thing. The irony that this has happened now isn't lost on me," Mr Green said.

Find out more here.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Council enforcement officers are still finding non-essential businesses that have failed to close – three weeks after the lockdown was introduced.

This weekend, Waltham Forest Council enforcement officers shut down two barbers that were still operating in the Leyton area.

Another business in Forest Road, Walthamstow was also shut down, as the council reminds owners that only those deemed essential are allowed to stay open.

Government guidance states that “hairdressers, barbers, beauty and nail salons, including piercing and tattoo parlours” should all close, with no exceptions offered.

Small businesses can apply to Waltham Forest Council for a grant to help financially support them during the lockdown.

Image source, AP

Billionaire landowner, the Duke of Westminster has donated an extra £10m to the UK's coronavirus relief effort.

The majority of the money will be used to provide respite, rehabilitation and mental health assistance to NHS staff and their families, Hugh Grosvenor, 29, said.

The seventh Duke of Westminster, who is worth an estimated £8.9bn after inheriting the family fortune said: "On behalf of my family and everyone at the Grosvenor Estate, I want to say a huge thank you to all our amazing NHS staff and everyone providing critical frontline services."

"As they keep us safe, I want to help provide as much support to them and their families as we can."

A sum of £5m will help create a Family Fund within NHS Charities Together, while £3m will go to national medical research and development linked to the Covid-19 illness.

Charities providing frontline support to those suffering the greatest long-term economic and social impact will receive the remaining £2m.

It follows an initial donation of £2.5m in March, which went mostly to charities providing essential food distribution to vulnerable families.

That Duke's fortune comes from a huge property empire including 190 acres in Belgravia, an area near to Buckingham Palace, and one of London's most expensive districts.

The Financial Conduct Authority says insurers must pay out to firms "as soon as possible".