London (AFP)
A huge field hospital opened Friday in a London conference center, after being set up in less than ten days to deal with the growing influx of patients infected with the new coronavirus.
Built with the assistance of the army, the Nightingale hospital, with an initial capacity of 500 beds, will be able to reach 4,000 beds, the equivalent of ten conventional hospitals.
Released this week of quarantine after being himself contaminated, the son of Queen Elizabeth II described this field hospital, his Scottish residence, "bright light in these dark times".
"It is undoubtedly a feat on all levels, from the speed of its construction in just nine days to the talent of those who created it," insisted the heir to the crown.
With a planned staff of 16,000 caregivers, this giant hospital, without equivalent on British soil, is trying to respond to the acceleration of the pandemic, which officially contaminated 33,718 people, causing 2,921 deaths, in the United Kingdom.
© 2020 AFP