Inside UK's first coronavirus mega-hospital: Hundreds of cubicles erected in ExCeL Centre while equipment is unloaded from ambulances before patients – as death toll jumps by 181 in a day (22 Pics)
Incredible images from inside the ExCeL Centre show construction work to transform the exhibition centre into London's emergency coronavirus hospital is underway.
The ExCeL London Centre is being refitted to create thousands of new beds for COVID-19 sufferers, complete with oxygen, ventilators and other key equipment in the battle against the deadly virus.
The exhibition centre, in East London, will become the NHS Nightingale Hospital, creating an impressive 4,000 beds.
Before the scale of the crisis became clear, the UK was believed to have had one of the lowest proportions of intensive care units in Europe, but NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens says 33,000 beds are now available for COVID-19 patients.
Just under 4,000 people in London have been infected with the virus, according to the latest government figures. At least 180 people in the city have died.
Mayor Sadiq Khan warned Londoners yesterday: 'I need to warn people that it is going to a lot worse over the next few weeks.
'But we are going to do what we can for that eventuality. The number of people we are talking about are large and we need to be ready for that.
'You will have seen the amount of dead already in London, we are two or three weeks ahead of the rest of the country and we know the peak is coming soon, three to five weeks away.'
Incredible images from inside the ExCel Centre show construction work to transform the exhibition centre into London's emergency coronavirus hospital is underway
Ambulance staff and health workers outside the ExCel Center in London on Saturday morning
Ambulances are seen outside the Excel Centre, London, while it is being prepared to become the NHS Nightingale Hospital, as the capital prepares for a 'tsunami' of patients
Sawing and other construction work is underway at the venue, which is being transformed into a new NHS Nightingale Hospital
Exterior of the Excel Centre, London while it is being prepared to become the NHS Nightingale Hospital as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues
Ambulances were seen lining up outside the exhibition centre, soon to become the NHS Nightingale Hospital, on Saturday morning, as workers were busy transforming the building inside.
Military planners are working with Health Service officials to create the new hospital in the capital from scratch to accommodate rising numbers of patients.
Extraordinary pictures show how hundreds of cubicles were being erected inside the vast space to create a layout resembling a hospital ward.
The completed hospital will comprise of two wards, each able to house 2,000 sick patients.
Ambulance workers this morning unloaded medical equipment including oxygen tanks, heart monitors and defibrillators outside NHS Nightingale.
Other medical staff carried out 'dummy runs', wheeling a model of a fake patient on a trolley into the ExCel exhibition centre on Saturday morning.
Other medical staff carried out 'dummy runs', wheeling a model of a fake patient on a trolley into the ExCel exhibition centre on Saturday morning
Medical staff wheel a model of a fake patient on a trolley into the ExCeL London exhibition centre in London on March 28
A dummy is wheeled into the exhibition centre which is being transformed into a hospital, in a practice run ahead of its opening next week
The building is expected to open as a fully-functioning hospital by next Saturday, April 4.
It comes as the UK death toll surged by 181 yesterday as Government advisers warned that even stricter social distancing measures could be on the way.
It is by far the biggest daily increase and means the disease has claimed 759 lives, including young and previously healthy people.
Government advisers said stricter social distancing policies may have to be rolled out next month if the grim figures continued to rise.
The measures would be introduced in three weeks as the outbreak reached its peak to further reduce 'person-to-person interaction'.
Military and contractors building the Nightingale Hospital for coronavirus patients at the Excel centre in east London, above and below
The transformed building is expected to open as a fully-functioning hospital by next Saturday, April 4
Extraordinary pictures show how hundreds of cubicles were being erected inside the vast space to create a layout resembling a hospital ward
The NHS Nightingale hospital will comprise of two wards, each of 2,000 people, to help tackle coronavirus
Military planners are working with Health Service officials to create the new hospital in the capital from scratch to accommodate rising numbers of patients
Police chiefs are also encouraging Britons to snitch on neighbours they suspect of breaching the coronavirus lockdown rules put in place to protect them and the rest of the public.
Humberside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and Avon and Somerset have created a mixture of 'hotlines' and 'online portals' where people can submit tip-offs if lockdown infractions occur.
Snoopers who want to punish or threaten alleged rule-breakers into compliance can report cases directly to designated coronavirus police task forces.
The NHS has warned of a potential 'tsunami' of COVID-19 patients in the capital over the coming weeks before the capital reaches its peak of infections as concerns grow that the crisis in the capital is escalating.
The number of coronavirus cases in London has almost quadrupled in a week as the UK's epidemic continues to spread into all corners of the British Isles.
The capital city now has at least 4,637 cases, a jump from the 1,221 reported last Friday, three days before Britons were ordered to stay indoors to try and stop the outbreak.
Some 228 of the 759 deaths recorded in Britain have been in London, including 57 of the 181 announced on Friday.
Scientists say the official figures represent the fallout of Britons carrying on their lives as normal before lockdown, cramming into pubs and working in offices despite COVID-19 cases emerging.
Birmingham is the single local authority with the most cases, with 366 confirmed patients, and the West Midlands around it has become the biggest hotspot outside of London, with more than 1,630 cases.
However, nearby Rutland, in the East Midlands, has reported zero cases so far.
Yesterday the bombshell news that The Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock have both tested positive for coronavirus shook the Government.
London is at the centre of the UK's fast expanding coronavirus outbreak and Southwark and Lambeth are the worst hit boroughs, with more than 500 cases between them
London's coronavirus cases have increased three-fold in a week as the crisis escalates rapidly
Outside of London, the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham will add an initial 500 beds, with the potential to grow to 2,000 if necessary.
Manchester Central Convention Complex will add 500 more, with the capacity to expand to 1,000, and Cardiff's Principality Stadium will provide up to 2,000 more.
Efforts are under way to source the doctors, nurses and non-clinical workers to staff the huge units.
Military planners are working with Health Service officials to create the new hospital in the capital from scratch to accommodate rising numbers of patients
Contractors carry building materials to form the new hospital wards for coronavirus patents in East London
The NHS has warned of a potential 'tsunami' of COVID-19 patients in the capital over the coming weeks before the capital reaches its peak of infections
General view of the Excel Centre, London while it is being prepared to become the NHS Nightingale Hospital
Meanwhile Chessington World of Adventures car park is being turned into drive-thru swab centre for medics. It means thousands of doctors and nurses could be tested at the site in Surrey.
Six lanes have been set up at the children's entertainment park for health workers to drive in to from the main road.
They stay in their cars as medics in protective clothing take a swab from their nose and throat to be tested for Covid-19.
It is understood Chessington is one of a number of new sites preparing to take samples from NHS workers, allowing those who test negative to return to work.
Deirdre Barr, 62, (pictured) will come out of retirement to work as director of operations at the new Nightingale Hospital in East London
It emerged a retired nurse from Northern Ireland will go back to work on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic to head the new Nightingale hospital.
Deirdre Barr, 62, from Bogside, has served the NHS for 40 years, after joining as a St John Ambulance cadet.
She will now leave her home in Kent to work at the new hospital amid the global pandemic.
Her sister Dolores, 74, said that although the family were concerned for Barr, they were extremely proud of her decision.
'This is a massive job, and we're scared for Deirdre, but we are so very proud that she has taken it on. If anyone can do this, Deirdre can. She's always been the one person her whole family turns to in times of trouble and sickness.
'Now the whole of the UK will be turning to her. She'll handle it well. She has broad shoulders and never shirks from responsibility.
'This job is going to ask an awful lot of her but we know she'll face it head on. The pictures we are seeing of the Nightingale Hospital are terrifying but our Deirdre will take it all in her stride,' she told the Daily Mirror.
An ambulance worker unloads oxygen tanks, heart monitors and defibrillators outside the ExCel Center in London this morning
Ambulance staff and health workers outside the ExCel Center in London
Equipment being setup at the ExCel centre in London which is being made into a temporary hospital - the NHS Nightingale hospital, comprising of two wards, each of 2,000 people, to help tackle coronavirus
Equipment being setup at the ExCel centre in London which is being made into a temporary hospital
It comes as NHS nurses from all over the UK are sent to London as the capital is set to be struck by a 'tsunami' of cases in the coming weeks.
The ExCel hospital is set to open next week, with 500 beds and plans to expand to 4,000.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace has described the plans as an 'ambitious project' that 'is just one example of what can be achieved when they come together to help the nation'.
It has been reported that as many as 13 makeshift hospitals may be needed in the UK to tackle the health crisis.
The UK saw coronavirus cases jump by 2,921 on Friday to almost 15,000, the largest increase so far, while the death toll spiked by a third to 759.
