Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

A Rabbi from Finchley used her sermon yesterday to urge the Jewish community not to visit dying relatives in hospital.

Her comments come after Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he would give permission to people visit critically ill family members if it were practical to do so.

Rabbi Miriam Berger said "compassion is not always the best leadership" adding that people should not be forced to choose to say goodbye to a loved one or to be honest about their health and vulnerability to coronavirus.

"Not giving people impossible choices is sometimes much fairer," Rabbi Berger said.

"Don’t make a spouse in their 80s make the choice as to whether they come to the hospital to say goodbye.

"Don’t make people choose whether to be honest about if they think they may pose a risk in the hospital or the crematorium.

"Too many of us we will choose wrongly, we will go and say goodbye, letting emotion take over in those heart breaking moments.

"Many hospitals are ignoring Hancock and maintaining a no-visitor policy but if you or someone you now finds themselves given this terrible choice please, please prioritise yourselves and all those living and know that a life time of kisses, handholding and kind wise words will always be more powerful than any final ones can be."

Image source, Sotheby's/PA Media

Two wallpaper prints designed by David Bowie are estimated to sell for up to £56,000 later this month.

The Brixton-born star, who died in 2016, produced the designs in 1995 with British homeware brand Laura Ashley.

The first, titled Conflict, depicts a Lucian Freud nude artwork submerged a formaldehyde tank, while the second, called Minotaur, pays homage to Pablo Picasso.

Conflict was conceived for Bowie's debut exhibition, New Afro/Pagan and Work: 1975-1995, held on London's Cork Street in 1995, where it was plastered across a series of columns.

In an interview in 1996, Bowie said of the design: "It involved creating pilasters; half-columns against a wall covered in an incongruous wallpaper."

"This particular one is an English painter called Lucian Freud in a Damien Hirst box, so it's traditional art in the hands of modern art," he added.

The rolls feature in auction house Sotheby's Prints and Multiple auction, open for online bidding until 28 April.

Image source, Sotheby's/PA Media

Image source, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

A Macmillan cancer centre manager is among those who have volunteered to join the NHS frontline at the Nightingale Hospital in east London.

Macmillan Cancer Support and Information Centre Manager Alison Boyd, who is usually based with Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, is returning to her former role in nursing at the huge hospital in the ExCel Centre.

She said she wanted to volunteer because "families and patients will still need the same kind of understanding and care, perhaps even more so since some patients are not allowed to see their families and loved ones".

“Every single person working at the Nightingale is a skilled professional in their own right. We all want to provide outstanding care in a challenging time, and colleagues from the NHS, military and ambulance services are really pulling together," she added.

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

A trial date has been set for a 59-year-old man who is accused of making fake Covid-19 test kits and attempting to sell them around the world.

Frank Ludlow, who was arrested by City of London Police following an investigation with the National Crime Agency, faces fraud charges and supplying an unauthorised medical product.

Ludlow, of East Marden in Sussex, was arrested at a Post Office near his home after 60 coronavirus "treatment kits" were seized by police in the US.

The kits, which were intercepted by Customs and Border Protection Agency officers in Los Angles, were labelled as "Anti-Pathogenic treatment" and had been sent from the UK, City of London Police said.

They allegedly contained chemicals which are "extremely harmful" when the user is instructed to wash and rinse their mouth with them, police added.

A five-day trial will start at Portsmouth Crown Court on 17 August.

Winnie Agbonlahor

Patients with lung and heart conditions who started singing while undergoing treatment at St Georges University Hospital in Tooting, south London, have continued their group.

They now sing during virutal video chat meet-ups.

St Georges Resp PT, a group of respiratory physios working at the hospital trust, said patients find the session helpful.

Image source, Getty Images

Two more Homerton Hospital workers have died over the weekend after contracting coronavirus.

Sophie Fagan, a 78-year-old support coordinator who worked in Hackney for more than 50 years and “refused to retire”, died yesterday morning.

The previous front-line nurse Michael Allieu, 53, died after contracting the virus. He had worked in the acute care unit since 2007.

The Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said Sophie was “part of the healthcare fabric in Hackney” and Michael was a “member of the Homerton family”.

Sophie Fagan, who arrived from India in 1961 aged 16 and began working as a nurse in 1966.

Homerton’s chief executive Tracey Fletcher said: “Sophie Fagan was an extraordinary woman and well-known across the Homerton site and indeed Hackney for over 50 years.

“Sophie was 78 when she died and still working. She refused to fully retire and although she did reduce her hours she was often to be found meeting relatives and supporting staff in the hospital when she wasn’t due to be. Sophie wanted to make a difference and caring for the elderly was her passion.

Michael was a "vibrant, larger than life character", Ms Fletcher said.

"He will be greatly missed by all his colleagues both in the ACU and the wider Homerton Hospital community. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family at this sad time.”

They are the second and third Homerton workers to die in the hospital having contracted coronavirus, following the death of Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury on 8 April.

Government sources say measures are likely to be modified rather than eased in three weeks.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Image source, Westminster City Council

Chefs at a top London hotel are using their skills to create cuisine for the local community during the coronavirus lockdown.

The five-star Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge closed its doors to guests more than a month ago but its team of chefs and kitchen staff are now cooking up a storm and making more than 1,500 meals a week which are delivered to Westminster residents.

An army of volunteers is delivering the food to people in sheltered accommodation or those on low incomes.

Led by head chef Jude Rozario, the hotel divided its chefs and kitchen staff into teams so if they have to self isolate the other teams can carry on.

The hotel’s general manager, Knut Wylde, said staff were keen to turn their skills to help their neighbours, adding: “We are honoured to help support our local community at this very difficult time... We are all in this together.”

Some staff are also staying at the hotel to help as they are also offering complimentary hot food and tea and coffee at a special drive-through for emergency services staff.

They are giving out drinks to the frontline staff from 10:00 to 16:00, with hot food on offer on a first-come first-served basis from noon.

Westminster Council launched its Westminster Connects initiative, external to help support residents during the crisis and more than 2,500 have already signed up to help.

Newly elected council leader, Rachael Robathan, who helped serve up some of the first meals last Thursday, said the community support for the scheme had been "fantastic".

"People are wanting to give their help to everyone else,” she said.

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Image source, Reuters

A further 81 patients have died from coronavirus inside hospitals across London, latest NHS figures show.

It brings the total number of people to have died in the capital from the virus in hospitals to 3,906.

Among the latest registered deaths, 11 of those were recorded at the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust.

Imperial (eight), London North West University (seven) and Royal Free (seven) are among the other NHS Trusts to have registered more deaths.

Four patients also died from the disease at the private London Clinic in Marylebone.

Later this evening Public Health England will publish statistics on the amount of people known to have had tested positive for coronavirus.

Britain looks set to pay tribute next Tuesday to those who have died on the front line.

Winnie Agbonlahor

Image source, Getty Images

A group of friends have launched ‘Plant Pack’ where they rescue flowers destined for the bin and deliver them to houses with profits going to the NHS.

"We're hoping to prevent a tonne of waste, you get nice plants brought to your house and potentially help to save several small businesses in the process," Tom King, who said he launched the service, posted on Facebook, external.

About 2,000 garden centres and nurseries were forced to close at the end of March, meaning makers of what's called "ornamental horticulture" have no outlet for their plants.

The Horticultural Trades Association warned last month that up to a third of producers could go bust.

Plant Pack has partnered with recycling and environmental experts First Mile to deliver plants to anyone living in zones one, two, three and four, and pledged to donate any profits to the NHS.

Delivery takes between three and six days, according to PlantPack's website, external.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Sadiq Khan has launched a crowdfunding site for Londoners to help keep small businesses afloat during the coronavirus outbreak.

The mayor wants residents to support small businesses running short of cash by buying goods in advance – with vouchers they can redeem when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

London is home to more than half a million small and medium-sized businesses, making up more than 99% of all businesses in the capital, according to the Office of National Statistics.

Many are now running short of cash, as government restrictions have forced high streets to shut down and money worries curb public spending. Many have also been said they have been refused loans.

Alongside his crowd-funding campaign, the mayor has also promised an extra £1m of business support through the London Growth Hub, external over the next year, offering phone and web chat advice, online seminars and guidance on the pandemic.

Mr Khan said small businesses in the capital are “facing enormous challenges” because of coronavirus and the economic impact will be “far-reaching and long-lasting”.

"I’m confident that this goodwill means many will be happy to pay for goods and services now so that they can continue to enjoy them when things get back to normal.”

Businesses can now launch campaigns on the Pay it Forward London website, external, and the public can nominate their favourite shops and restaurants and encourage them to sign up.

The site is powered by Crowdfunder, and the entrepreneurship platform will waive its normal operating fees and transaction costs for small firms using the service.

Federation of Small Businesses’ London chairman Michael Lassman said the mayor’s scheme could be a “lifeline” for many struggling businesses.

Winnie Agbonlahor

An online lego club has been set up in Bromley, south-east London.

Lego fans are asked to share their creations by tagging Bromley libraries on Twitter , externaland Instagram, external.

The first theme is bridges.

Lego builders of all ages are welcome to join in. Images mustn't show any people.

An emergency fund to help the heritage sector in London and across the country during the lockdown has been announced by Historic England.

The heritage body said the fund of up to £2m had been created to help small organisations "survive the immediate challenges posed by the pandemic, and to prepare for recovery".

It follows a survey of heritage organisations conducted by Historic England which found that in London, eight out of ten respondents reported they had lost business in the short term, while six out of ten had been forced to postpone or cancel income-generating events.

Duncan Wilson, the group’s chief executive, said there were "individuals and organisations that are really struggling for survival" and the "safeguarding of their livelihoods will also determine the survival of our most precious heritage".

Applicants can apply for grants of up to £25,000 to address financial difficulties arising from coronavirus, while grants of £50,000 are also available for projects and activities that reduce risks to heritage.

Image source, Mutual Aid Disinfection

A group of volunteers are disinfecting public areas around Lewisham in south-east London for free to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

Evrad Kameugne Kounchou said he founded Mutual Aid Disinfection following the death of a friend who had contracted the virus.

"I wanted to do something that would stop more deaths," he explained.

Image source, Mutual Aid Disinfection

Mr Kounchou said it was "important to disinfect public places" as the virus can survive on surfaces so the groups had been working in "parks, buses, stations, train, streets and markets”.

“We are a specialist service so we can assure people we are fully trained and doing this to a high standard,” he added.

Image source, ZOË SAVITZ

At a time when people can't socialise with friends or see family, photographer Zoe Savitz began a portrait series of her street in Dalston, east London.

Savitz spent about 20 minutes with each household, standing on the pavement, chatting at a distance before taking their photo.

Sometimes, her housemate would join her, drawn by the opportunity to interact with people again.

Image source, ZOË SAVITZ

"Hearing everyone's stories, where they came from, what they were doing in the world before it stopped and how long they lived here for was so interesting," she says.

See more of Savitz's photos here.

Image source, ZOË SAVITZ || WWW.ZOESAVITZ.COM

Image source, MAIL RAIL AT THE POSTAL MUSEUM / MILES WILLIS

The Postal Museum is giving people the chance to experience London's Mail Rail virtually while it is shut due to the lockdown.

The institution has posted a virtual ride including commentary, external along with a series of other exhibitions, which will remain online until the museum opens again.

Chief Executive Laura Wright said the shutdown was proving "hard" for the museum "as we rely on ticketed income and receive no government funding".

"We are working to find ways to overcome the effect this will have, including accessing Emergency Funding provided by the government that we are eligible to apply for," she added.

Independent museums are considered to be particularly at risk of being lost during the coronavirus lockdown because of the impact it has had on their finances.

Sam Francis
BBC News, London

More than 300 new coronavirus deaths in London were registered over the weekend.

Saturday saw 221 deaths linked to Covid-19 registered in London hospitals, the third highest one day total since the outbreak began. On Sunday 82 deaths were registered, bringing the weekend total to 303.

Over the weekend three private hospitals registered their first coronavirus linked deaths. Six deaths were registered at Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth and one death at both the London Bridge Hospital and the London Clinic on Harley Street.

London hospitals have now registered 3,825 deaths linked to coronavirus.

This includes four hospitals that have now registered more than 300 total deaths: Royal Free Hospital (380) ,London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (375), Kings College London (317) and the trust responsible for the new NHS Nightingale - Barts Health Trust (306).

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Image source, Greenwich Council

The Royal Borough of Greenwich has appealed for the community to help catch thieves who stole bricks from the boundary wall of Woolwich New Cemetery, leaving the authority with a hefty damage bill.

Images taken Friday morning show a large, U-shaped bite measuring several metres across missing from the yard’s boundary wall.

Bricks can also be seen strewn across the ground and arranged in stacks ready to be taken away.

A high visibility jacket can be seen among the mess.

The council confirmed it is working with police to find the culprits and appealed to residents who might have seen or know anything about the incident to get in contact.

Council leader Dan Thorpe said he was “disgusted” by the act, which comes at a time when the authority is already being stretched by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ministers say the move is to ensure enough capacity for the most pessimistic outcome on the number of deaths.