Has Boris Johnson overpromised and underdelivered on testing for coronavirus? Plus updates From Italy, Spain and Germany
Calling Peston: The ITV News Politics Podcast
ITV News
4.2 • 177 Ratings
🗓️ 3 April 2020
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week has seen Britain’s biggest rise in the number of coronavirus infections and coronavirus deaths, as the government faced big questions over why so few people are being tested for the virus.
ITV Political Correspondent Daniel Hewitt, himself now isolating, speaks to political reporter Shehab Khan and ITV Political Editor Robert Peston to discuss Number 10’s problems increasing the number of people, in particular NHS workers, tested for Covid-19. Robert, who is now out of isolation, updates us on the latest attempts to buy millions of tests that could tell us if we’ve already had the disease.
ITV Europe Editor James Mates updates us on what’s happening in Italy, where there are glimmers of hope. We also ask why Germany has been so much more successful at testing than the UK.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the ITV News Politics Podcast calling Peston. |
| 0:07.5 | We hope you are safe and well. |
| 0:09.7 | It is Friday evening. |
| 0:10.9 | The Health Secretary Matt Hancock has just delivered the latest government daily briefing. |
| 0:14.7 | We'll talk about that and a host of other COVID-19 related issues in what has been another unprecedented week, in which the government |
| 0:22.2 | has faced some pretty big questions over why so few people are being tested compared to other |
| 0:27.8 | countries and access to personal protective equipment for NHS workers. |
| 0:33.2 | The Prime Minister is meant to be out of self-isolation by now, having tested positive for |
| 0:37.2 | coronavirus seven days ago, but he is staying in quarantine because he still has a high |
| 0:42.3 | temperature. |
| 0:43.2 | The Queen announced she'll address the nation on Sunday, only the fifth time in her 68 years |
| 0:47.5 | in the throne that she's delivered a special televised address, thanks to our Royal Editor |
| 0:52.0 | Chris Schip for that stat. |
| 0:53.9 | And the new Nightingale |
| 0:55.1 | Hospital opened at the Excel Centre in London. It will eventually be able to care for 4,000 |
| 1:00.5 | patients with COVID-19 and was built in just nine days. I'm Daniel Hewitt to talk about all that |
| 1:06.9 | and more. I'm joined as ever by my colleague Shehab Khan. Hello Sheehab. Hi. And shortly we'll both |
| 1:14.3 | be joined on the phone by ITB political editor Robert Peston. First, we're all in different |
| 1:20.7 | locations again today. I'm at home. Shehab, where are you currently? I am also at home. I've |
| 1:25.9 | got the day off today because I'm working |
| 1:28.1 | tomorrow because we've got a big political day tomorrow but more about that later. |
| 1:32.4 | Where are you Lewis? I'm sat at home with my headset on and my laptop in front of me listening |
... |
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