Today the Health Secretary announced that the ExCel Centre in London will be transformed into a huge temporary hospital. It’ll be known as NHS Nightingale, and will be able to accommodate thousands of patients to help deal with the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Manchester Evening News, the Government is looking to potentially open more than one of these hospitals, and that the old G-MEX in Manchester is one option.
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The Manchester Central Convention Complex, previously the G-MEX, has been proposed as the logical site, after the Government approached leaders in Manchester to find somewhere suitable, the MEN reports. While the centre will not be able to fit as many people in as the ExCel, it’s thought hundreds of patients could be accommodated if the need arises.
London is currently two weeks ahead of the rest of the country in regards to COVID-19 cases, so it’s unclear when this might come into effect, if it ever does. A lot of it depends on how seriously people take the lockdown rules, with officials hoping the spread will start to slow down due to the new stricter measures.