:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/RC5H46GMN5GB3LJ372KCLR3LZY.jpg "British hospitals “on the warpath” against omicron")
The hospitals British, “in pie from war” against the spread of omicron variant, organize to open thousands of makeshift beds without yet knowing how the increase in cases will affect the intensive care units.
The United Kingdom, which registered nearly 148,500 deaths due to the pandemic, surpasses its own records of infections of covid-19. On Thursday, for example, authorities reported more than 189,000 cases.
Although the government insists for now that omicron It seems to cause less severe symptoms than the Delta variant, for the first time since March the number of patients hospitalized for covid-19 approached 12,000 this Thursday.
To be able to face the “Worst scenario”, the National Health Service (NHS) announced on Thursday the construction of temporary structures to house a hundred patients respectively in eight hospitals, which should be operational this week.
The hospitals They must also identify “spaces such as gyms or educational centers that can be converted to house patients” and create up to 4,000 additional beds.
At Hospital St George, in the London borough of Tooting, a group of workers tried to erect a steel structure in front of the brick building on Thursday, an AFP photographer found.
“The NHS is now in pie from war“Said the medical director of the health service, Stephen Powis, although he” hopes “that the structures are not necessary.
“We still do not know exactly how many people who have contracted the virus will need hospital treatment, but given the number of infections, we cannot wait to know before acting,” he explained.
During the first wave, the NHS built huge hospitals of campaign in convention centers or stadiums, but they had been of little use, mainly due to the lack of specialized personnel.
This time instead, smaller facilities were chosen and closer to the hospitals.
Trains canceled
Unlike the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish authorities, the Boris Johnson government has decided not to impose new restrictions before New Years in England.
The prime minister left pubs and nightclubs open and asked citizens for caution during the holidays. Instead of betting on closures, it accelerated the reinforcement campaign, with a third dose administered to 57.5% of those over 12 years of age.
To justify the decision not to impose further restrictions, Boris Johnson, who faces opposition from part of his caucus, relies on studies indicating a lower risk of hospitalization with omicron than with the Delta variant.
Oxford University immunologist John Bell also relativized the threat on Tuesday on the BBC, underlining the benefits of vaccination: “The horrible scenes from a year ago – crowded intensive care units, many premature deaths – are now a thing of the past, “he said.
But scientists fear that, despite everything, there will be a significant surge in income in the hospitals due to the large number of infections.
The situation has deteriorated in recent days, especially in London, although last winter’s figures, with almost 40,000 hospitalized patients, differ greatly from current ones.
Beyond the situation in the hospitals, the spectacular level of circulation of the virus disturbs the functioning of the country.
The Southern Railway Company has canceled all of its trains at London Victoria Station until January 10. Firefighters and ambulances report difficulties in providing their services.
The same is the case with the NHS itself, raising questions about the functioning of the new makeshift beds.
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