Doctors and nurses treating patients with Covid-19 in Britain are putting their lives at risk because of a lack of protective kit for frontline staff, their unions have warned.

According to a Reuters report, the British Medical Association (BMA), which represents doctors, said current supplies in London and Yorkshire, in northern England, were insufficient, and doctors faced a “heart-breaking” decision over whether to treat patients without proper protection and so put themselves at risk.

“It is absurd that the people trained to treat this disease are the ones who are not being appropriately protected — and without them, we face real disaster,” said Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the BMA council chair.