UK to open temporary London hospital to tackle coronavirus outbreak

Britain will open a new temporary hospital next week at the Excel exhibition centre in London to treat as many as 4,000 people, health minister Matt Hancock said on Tuesday. Britain has had more than 8,000 cases of coronavirus and 422 deaths, with London hospitals coming under particular pressure.

"We will next week open a new hospital, a temporary hospital, the NHS Nightingale hospital, at the Excel centre in London," Hancock said at a news conference. "The NHS Nightingale hospital will comprise two wards each of 2000 people. With the help of the military and with NHS clinicians, we will make sure that we have the capacity that we need so that everyone can get the support they need."