NHS Nightingale: Inside London's New Coronavirus Hospital

The ExCeL Centre in London, a vast space normally used for conventions an exhibitions, has in the past several days been transformed into a hospital to help the capital deal with the demands of the coronavirus pandemic.

Footage released on April 1 by the UK Ministry of Defence shows the involvement of the armed forces in repurposing the venue, which has been named NHS Nightingale. The hospital is due to open this week, The Times said, for an initial 42 patients. It could potentially have up to 5,000 beds. At that capacity, more than 16,000 members of NHS staff would be needed to run the facility, The Times said.

“If we have to use this facility, which I really hope we don’t because everyone is staying home and washing their hands and social distancing, we will need thousands of doctors and nurses and volunteers,” Natalie Forrest, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said.

The hospital was first announced by the Health Secretary Matt Hancock on March 24. It was confirmed on March 27 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

As of March 31, 25,150 people in the UK had tested positive for the coronavirus. The number having died was at 1,789. Credit: UK Ministry of Defence via Storyful