LONDON (AP) – The National Health Service of Great Britain will employ, next week, a little-used field hospital, specially built in a large exhibition center in East London in the early days of the pandemic last spring.
NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens said on Thursday that the pressures faced by hospitals in London and south-east England are so acute that the Nightingale hospital at ExCel London will open next week for inpatients. In principle, it is expected that a few hundred beds for non-COVID patients will be available.
“The entire London health service is mobilizing to do everything it can, except infections, the rate of growth of hospitalizations, this is what collectively the country needs to be under control,” 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 the founder of modern nursing. In the event, they were hardly used and were deactivated for use potentially during new waves of the pandemic.
Stevens said the health service is in the midst of an “incredibly serious situation”, with more than 50% more patients hospitalized with coronavirus in hospitals in England than the peak in April. All of this is happening when the NHS is busiest because of winter-related illnesses.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conservative government faced criticism for not blocking England before – during the Christmas holiday season – due to an increase in infections largely due to a new strain of the virus around the capital and south east England. . The blockade took effect on Tuesday, more than two weeks after scientists warned that the new variant was potentially 70% more contagious.
In another tightening measure, the government announced Friday that as of next week all people arriving from other countries will have to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test done within 72 hours of departure. There are exemptions for some, including truck drivers, airline crew and children under 11.
Many public health experts have long urged the UK to take the measure as a way to reduce imported infections, although the virus is more widespread in Britain than in many other countries.
The government said the move will help protect against new variants of the virus, such as one recently identified in South Africa.
The UK is reporting virus-related deaths on a par with some of the worst days of the pandemic. On Thursday, government data showed that another 1,162 people died 28 days after testing for the virus. That’s just a bit of the record 1,224 deaths on April 21.
The total number of virus-related deaths in the UK is now 78,508. According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the United Kingdom is again the hardest hit country in Europe in terms of COVID-related deaths.
Although the number of new cases has dropped 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 delays involved, the UK could face many more days of very high daily deaths related to the virus.
Johnson said the likely number of virus-related deaths in the UK would be “tragically” high, but would depend on factors such as the speed of distribution of vaccines and people’s adherence to the blockade.
The UK is further on the vaccine path than others, having already approved two for use. Nearly 1.5 million people, mostly over 80, have already received the first dose of the vaccine. The government plans to provide a first dose to about 13 million people by mid-February, who would represent about 85% of the people considered to be at greatest risk of dying from COVID-19.
People across the UK were encouraged to “applaud the heroes” on Thursday night. In the first weeks of the pandemic, the weekly “Applause for Caregivers” was a unifying ritual.
His return, albeit with a new brand to recognize other important employees as well, such as delivery drivers and postal workers, had a mixed response. Some NHS officials have asked people to stay at home and not venture to clap their hands outside.
___
Follow the coverage of the coronavirus pandemic AP at:
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak