The Military has been deployed at London hospitals in the UK to help them deal with a surge in Covid patients hit with the Omicron variant.
Forty of the 200 military personnel deployed are doctors who will help NHS staff look after patients. The remaining 160 personnel will check in patients, ensure stocks are maintained, and would also be “conducting basic checks,” the Ministry of Defence said. They do not have medical training.
“We are thankful for the support of the Armed Forces alongside thousands of NHS staff, as they respond to the increased demands brought by Covid – ensuring continued high-quality care and treatment for the many Londoners being looked after by the NHS this winter,” Jane Clegg, Regional Chief Nurse for the NHS in London.
Before the Christmas holidays, the UK Health Security Agency said that people catching Omicron are 50% to 70% less likely to need hospital care compared with previous variants.
President Joe Biden has been urging Americans to receive the vaccine, repeatedly referring to the rise in numbers as “the pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
Global leaders are laboring to contain the virus.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shot down reports of an upcoming lockdown. Johnson said he hopes England can “ride out” the current wave of Covid-19 without further restrictions.
On Thursday, the director for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said that the continent would likely not be reinstating any “severe” lockdowns.
“We are very encouraged with what we saw in South Africa during this period where they look at the data in terms of severity (of infections),” said John Nkengasong. “The period where we are using severe lockdowns as a tool is over.”
