LONDON (AP) – The UK’s National Health Service will hire a little-used field hospital built next week in a huge exhibition center in east London in the early days of the pandemic last spring.
NHS England CEO Simon Stevens said on Thursday that the pressure on hospitals in London and the south-east of England was so acute that ExCel London’s Nightingale Hospital would open next week for inpatients. Several hundred beds for non-COVID patients are expected to be available at first.
“The entire health service in London is mobilizing to do everything possible, but infections, the rising rate of hospitalizations, is what the country needs to control collectively,” he said.
The hospital, which will also be a vaccination center, was one of several built in the spring to help during the pandemic. They were named after Florence Nightingale, widely considered to be the founder of modern healthcare. In this case, they were barely used and were born to be used during subsequent pandemic waves.
Stevens said the health service was in the midst of an “incredibly serious situation” with more than 50% more coronavirus patients in hospitals in England than the peak in April. All this happens when the NHS is busiest due to winter-related illnesses.
The Conservative government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticized for not blocking England earlier – over the Christmas holidays – given an increase in infections, largely attributed to a new variant of the virus around the capital and the south-east of England. The ban went into effect on Tuesday, more than two weeks after scientists warned that the new variant is 70% more contagious.
In another tightening measure, the government announced on Friday that starting next week, all people arriving from other countries will have to prove a negative COVID-19 test performed within 72 hours before departure. There are exemptions for some, including truckers, airline crew and children under 11.
Many public health experts have long urged the UK to take action to reduce imported infections, although the virus is more prevalent in the UK than in many other countries.
The government said the measure would help protect against new variants of the virus, such as one recently identified in South Africa.
The UK is experiencing virus-related deaths as well as some of the worst days of the pandemic. On Thursday, government figures showed another 1,162 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus. This is just shy of the record high of 1,224 deaths on April 21.
The total death toll in the UK is now 78,508. According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the United Kingdom is again the most affected country in Europe in terms of the total number of COVID-related deaths.
Although the number of new cases fell to 52,618 from the previous day’s record of 62,322, the seven-day average is about three times higher than a month ago. Given the gaps involved, the UK could face many more days of very large daily virus-related deaths.
Johnson said the UK’s likely death toll from the virus will be “tragically” high, but will ultimately depend on factors such as the speed of vaccine launches and people’s adherence to the blockade.
The UK is further ahead of the others during the vaccine, having already approved two for use. Nearly 1.5 million people, mostly over the age of 80, have already received a first dose of vaccine. The government aims to provide a first dose for about 13 million people by mid-February, which would represent about 85% of those considered most at risk of dying from COVID-19.
People in the UK were encouraged to “applaud for the heroes” on Thursday night. In the first weeks of the pandemic, the weekly “Clap for Carers” was a unifying ritual.
His return, albeit a rebranded one, to recognize other key workers, such as delivery drivers and postal workers, was met with a mixed response. Some NHS workers have asked people to stay home and not venture outside to applaud.
___
Follow AP coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at:
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak