UK approves two new temporary hospitals in Birmingham and Manchester

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will build a further two hospitals to handle coronavirus patients, the head of England's publicly funded National Health Service (NHS) said on Friday.

"Today because this is a problem of course not just confined to London but across the whole country, I have given the go-ahead to the building of two further of these NHS Nightingale hospitals beginning at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre and the Manchester Central Convention Centre, with further such hospitals to follow," said NHS England CEO Simon Stevens.

A temporary hospital is already being constructed in London, and is due to receive patients next week.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas, Paul Sandle and Elizabeth Howcroft, writing by William James, editing by Estelle Shirbon)