UK reactivates COVID-19 emergency hospitals, closes London primary schools

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain reactivated emergency hospitals built at the start of the pandemic and closed primary schools in London on Friday to counter the rapid spread of a much more infectious variant of the coronavirus.

With more than 50,000 new daily cases of COVID-19 in the past four days, the health service said it was preparing for an anticipated rush of patients and needed more beds.

The announcement comes just days after the Royal London Hospital told staff in an email that it was now in ‘disaster medicine mode’ and unable to provide high-level critical care.

With the capital being one of the areas most affected by the new variant, which is up to 70% more contagious, the government has also decided to close all primary schools in London, overturning a decision taken just two years ago. days.

“The education and well-being of children remains a national priority,” Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said. “Moving other parts of London to distance education is really a last resort and a temporary fix.”

Britain is battling a new wave of the virus that has already killed more than 74,000 people and crushed the economy. One of the worst-affected countries in the world, it recorded 53,285 cases in the past 24 hours on Friday and 613 new deaths.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has been criticized for frequent reversals during the pandemic, including delaying the lockdown during the first wave of March and abandoning a system for assigning grades without exams.

Temporary “Nightingale” hospitals in places such as convention centers were successful, built by the military in a matter of days. They were hardly used but remained on hold.

A Sky News report said intensive care units at three London hospitals were full on New Years Eve, forcing patients to be transferred to other hospitals for intensive care.

‘In anticipation of mounting pressures related to the spread of the new variant of the infection, the NHS London Region has been urged to ensure that the Nightingale is reactivated and ready to admit patients when needed,’ said one spokesperson for the National Health Service (NHS).

The Royal College of Nursing has warned, however, that the country does not have enough nurses to staff the new sites, especially many sick with the virus or forced into self-isolation.

Regarding schooling, the government said it had to close all primary schools in the capital following a review of transmission rates. Williamson on Wednesday presented a plan to delay the reopening of secondary schools but open most primary schools, including in much of the capital, on time next week after the Christmas break.

The opposition Labor Party said the last-minute overthrow would cause chaos for parents.