London: Prince Charles on Friday opened a mega hospital for coronavirus patients in the sprawling ExCel Centre in east London, which was converted into the NHS Nightingale Hospital in 10 days with the help of Britain’s armed forces.
More such hospitals in large public spaces are due to open in Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Harrogate and Bristol. The prince of Wales, who recently recovered from the virus, inaugurated the hospital via video-link from his home in Birkhall, Scotland.
The death toll and the number of cases in the UK have continued to rise, with latest figures showing 2,921 deaths and 33,718 cases. The new hospital with a capacity of 4,000 beds is due to receive its first patients, as the government ramps up testing.
Prince Charles said he is “one of the lucky ones to have Covid-19 mildly”.
He said: “It is without doubt a spectacular and almost unbelievable feat of work in every sense, from its speed of construction - in just nine days as we’ve heard - to its size and the skills of those who have created it”.
“An example, if ever one was needed, of how the impossible could be made possible and how we can achieve the unthinkable through human will and ingenuity”.
{{/usCountry}}“An example, if ever one was needed, of how the impossible could be made possible and how we can achieve the unthinkable through human will and ingenuity”.
{{/usCountry}}Health secretary Matt Hancock added: “In these troubled times with this invisible killer stalking the whole world, the fact that in this country we have the NHS is even more valuable than before. It is the best of efforts. It is the best of the NHS”.
“And it is the best of Britain to come together in these difficult circumstances to put together such a facility, at such pace, that will be there for people so that we can give the very best care. And so that as a nation we can come through this crisis in the best way we possibly can”.