A ‘rocky few weeks ahead’ for UK hospitals

London, Jan 7 (UNI/Xinhua) British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Friday that there will be a “rocky few weeks ahead” for the National Health Service (NHS) as COVID cases continue to soar in the country.

Speaking during a visit to a hospital in south London, Javid says these are “challenging times” for the health service and the “best thing” people can do is get their COVID booster jab.
Javid’s remarks came after two major incidents were declared in England due to pressures caused by the Omicron variant’s spread.
“We know now that Omicron is less severe and we certainly know that once you get boosted that your chance of hospitalisation, our latest analysis shows, is almost 90 percent less than it was with Delta,” he said.
Britain reported another 178,250 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 14,193,228, according to official figures released Friday.
The country also reported a further 229 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 149,744, with 18,454 COVID-19 patients still in hospital.
Some 200 Armed Forces personnel are being deployed to support the NHS in London as hospitals grapple with staff shortages, according to Sky News.
The Royal College of Nursing has said the deployment means the government can no longer deny there is a “staffing crisis” within the NHS.
More than 90 percent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 82 percent have received both doses, according to the latest figures. More than 61 percent have received booster jabs, or the third dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.