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A30 world news
Diaranson 6 Januari 2021

UK hospitals stagger as new virus variant takes huge toll

(AP) — Britain is facing a pool staff, and you’ve got a
long, bleak winter as cold, very strong brand to attract
wet weather and a more people, he said. “I think the
contagious variant of the NHS is doing quite a good
coronavirus put unprec- job of setting up the logistics
edented strain on the na- of how you will get the vac-
tion's hospitals and force cine into the right places."
record numbers of pa- In the meantime, grants are
tients to wait 12 hours or being given to help busi-
more, sometimes on am- nesses further strained by the
bulance gurneys, before new rules. Grants of up to
receiving treatment. 9,000 pounds ($12,200) will
be offered to businesses in
That picture made Prime the retail, hospitality and lei-
Minister Boris Johnson or- sure sectors.
der a third national lockdown “The new strain of the virus
that started Tuesday and re- presents us all with a huge
quires everyone in England challenge - and, whilst the
to stay at home for at least the vaccine is being rolled out,
next six weeks except for ex- we have needed to tighten
ercise, medical appointments, restrictions further,'' Trea-
essential shopping and a few sury chief Rishi Sunak said.
other limited exceptions. "Throughout the pandemic
“It’s not hyperbole to say that we’ve taken swift action to
the (National Health Service) protect lives and livelihoods
is going through probably facilities are closed along Britain. On Monday, hospi- ly vulnerable to COVID-19. and today we’re announcing
the toughest time in living with bars, restaurants, hair tals in England were treating Britain has approved two a further cash injection to
memory, said Siva Anandaci- salons, gyms, theaters and 26,626 COVID-19 patients, vaccine shots so far — one support businesses and jobs
va, chief analyst of the King’s most shops. 40% more than during the from Pfizer-BioNTech and until the spring.''
Fund, a U.K. think tank that “The weeks ahead will be the first peak in mid-April. the other from Oxford Uni- Johnson announced the lock-
focuses on health and social hardest yet, but I really do Many U.K. hospitals have versity and AstraZeneca. down after the chief medical
care. “I was speaking to an believe that we are entering already been forced to can- As of Monday, the NHS had officers of England, North-
emergency care physician the last phase of the strug- cel elective surgeries and the vaccinated 1.3 million people ern Ireland, Scotland and
from London last week, and gle,” Johnson told the na- strain of responding to the across the U.K. The govern- Wales raised the U.K.-wide
she was saying that half of tion Monday night. “Because pandemic may soon delay ment plans to have almost COVID-19 threat assess-
her shift was spent delivering with every jab that goes into cancer surgery and limit in- 1,000 vaccination centers op- ment to the highest level.
care in ambulances because our arms, we are tilting the tensive care services for pa- erating across the country by The health system is already
they couldn’t get the patients odds against COVID and in tients without COVID-19. the end of this week, Johnson under “immense pressure,”
into the emergency depart- favor of the British people.” In December, a record 2,930 said. they said.
ment. Scotland's leader, Nicola people were forced to wait 12 While rollout of the vaccina- The new measures are similar
England's previous nation- Sturgeon, also imposed a hours or more before hospi- tion program is complicated, to those imposed last spring,
wide lockdown ran from lockdown that began Tues- tals could find beds for them, Anandaciva of the King's with people being told to
Nov. 5 to Dec. 5. In an- day. Northern Ireland and the Health Service Journal re- Fund said the structure of work from home unless it’s
nouncing the new stay-at- Wales had already imposed ported Monday, citing leaked the NHS will help it deliver impossible to do so, and to
home order, Johnson said it tough measures, though figures from the National the shots. In addition to a leave home only for exer-
won’t be reviewed for lifting rules vary. Each nation in the Health Service. The previous nationwide network of hos- cise or essential trips such as
until at least mid-February. United Kingdom controls its high of 2,847 waits of at least pitals, doctors and nurses, it grocery shopping. Schools
By that time, the government own health policy under the 12 hours for a hospital bed can rely on other allied health across England were ordered
hopes to have given one dose country's system of devolved was reported in January 2020. care professionals, such as to close their doors except for
of a COVID-19 vaccine to government. Public health officials hope pharmacists, to deliver the the children of critical work-
about 13 million people who Johnson and Sturgeon said the new lockdown will re- vaccine. ers and most vulnerable chil-
are most at risk, potentially the restrictions were needed duce the strains on the NHS “That’s one area where you dren, and shift to online in-
allowing some relaxation of to protect the hard-pressed while they roll out a national can really maximize the ben- struction beginning Tuesday.
the restrictions. National Health Service as a vaccination program that tar- efits of having a national- University students won’t re-
Under the latest lockdown, new, more contagious variant gets older people, health care ized service because you can turn to campus until at least
schools and outdoor sports of coronavirus sweeps across workers and those particular- … establish hubs, you can mid-February.
All nonessential shops and
personal care services like
hairdressers will stay closed.
Restaurants will be allowed
to offer takeout services only.
New COVID-19 infec-
tions have soared in recent
weeks as public health offi-
cials struggled to contain the
new variant, which the gov-
ernment says is 50% to 70%
more contagious. The num-
ber of confirmed new daily
infections in the past seven
days jumped 50% from the
previous week, and corona-
virus-related deaths rose 21%
in the same period.
Britain reported 830 corona-
virus-related deaths on Tues-
day. The death toll from the
pandemic is now 76,423, one
of the world's highest tallies.