H
ospital patients are to be discharged early from a London hospital in order to free beds for critically-ill Covid-19 patients – with some being sent to hotels.
The owners of the Best Western chain, the London Hotel Group (LHG), will accommodate patients deemed ready to leave King’s College Hospital.
It comes as the health service was under extraordinary pressure as official figures showed UK deaths from Covid-19 having passed 81,960.
A hospital spokesman said: “To create capacity in the hospital to care for the high number of patients requiring admission, we have partnered with a local hotel to temporarily accommodate mainly homeless patients who are ready to safely leave hospital and will benefit from further support from community partners.”
Coronavirus – In pictures
A sign advertising a book titled “How Will We Survive On Earth?” is seen on an underground station platform
Getty Images
Customers wearing face masks shop at the pork counter of a supermarket following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province
Reuters
Westminster Bridge is deserted in London the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the UK in lockdown
PA
Canadian passengers Chris & Anna Joiner ask for help onboard the MS Zaandam, Holland America Line cruise ship, during the coronavirus outbreak, off the shores of Panama City
via Reuters
A man crosses a nearly empty 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City
Reuters
The London Eye is pictured lit blue in support of the NHS, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues
Reuters
Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the Coronavirus lockdown
Andrew Parsons
Commuters cope with Coronavirus
Jeremy Selwyn
Milan’s Piazza del Duomo empty
AFP via Getty Images
People in protective clothing walk past rows of beds at a temporary 2,000-bed hospital for COVID-19 coronavirus patients set up by the Iranian army at the international exhibition center in northern Tehran, Iran
AP
Martina Papponetti, 25, an ICU nurse at the Humanitas Gavazzeni Hospital in Bergamo, Italy poses for a portrait at the end of her shift
AP
Pope Francis celebrating a daily mass alone in the Santa Marta chapel at the Vatican, as part of precautionary measures against the spread of the new coronavirus COVID-19
AFP via Getty Imag
Vysheyshaya Liga – FC Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino v FC Belshina Bobruisk – Torpedo Stadium, Zhodino, Belarus, March 27, 2020 Players in action during the match despite most sport being cancelled around the world as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues
Reuters
Hanks and Wilson both have coronavirus
Tom Hanks
General view of an emergency makeshift field hospital as it is set up at Pacaembu Stadium for coronavirus (COVID-19) patients with a capacity of 200 beds in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Getty Images
People on a busy tube train in London at rush hour despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling on people to stay away from pubs, clubs and theatres, work from home if possible and avoid all non-essential contacts and travel in order to reduce the impact of the coronavirus pandemic
PA
Naomi Campbell catches a flight in a hazmat suit with goggles, a surgical mask and rubber gloves
@naomi
Sophie and Emily Ward pose for a photograph with their hand-drawn picture of rainbows and a message on their window in St Helens, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues
Reuters
Mia, aged 8, and Jack, aged 5, take part in “PE with Joe” a daily live workout with Joe Wicks on Youtube to help kids stay fit who have to stay indoors due to the Corona virus outbreak.
PA
Shoppers queue outside a branch of Costco, in Croydon, south London, on the weekend after Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered pubs and restaurants across the country to close
PA
Charing Cross Tube Bakerloo Line very quiet at 8.15am
Jeremy Selwyn
A woman with a plastic box over her head on the London Underground.
PA
A Racegoer attend Cheltenham Festival on Ladies Day wearing a fashionable face mask
SplashNews.com
Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a laboratory at the Public Health England National Infection Service in Colindale
PA
A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask today in Victoria
Jeremy Selwyn
A couple kiss in Milano Centrale railway station in Milan on March 8, 2020
AFP via Getty Images
A combination picture shows visitors wearing protective face masks following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) looking at blooming cherry blossom nd a pigeon walking at an closed cherry blossom viewing spot during the first weekend after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike (not pictured) urged Tokyo residents to stay indoors, in a bid to keep the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from spreading
Reuters
This combination photo created on March 5, 2020 shows tourists visiting Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province on March 16, 2019 (top) and on March 5, 2020
AFP via Getty Images
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump looks at the $2.2 trillion coronavirus aid package bill as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Vice President Mike Pence stand by during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House
Reuters
A satellite image shows an empty South Beach during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Miami,
via Reuters
General view inside the empty stadium as the two teams line up prior to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund at Parc des Princes
UEFA via Getty Images
A Sainsbury’s supermarket in Cambridge is among those to sell out of antibacterial hand sanitizer
PA
Tents and ambulances are set up next to the Princess Cruises Grand Princess cruise as it sits docked in the Port of Oakland on March 09, 2020 in Oakland, California. The Princess Cruises Grand Princess has been held from docking until today as at least 21 people on board have tested positive for COVID-19 also known as the Coronavirus
Getty Images
Medical staff produce traditional Chinese medicine to treat patients infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus at a hospital in Wuhan
AFP via Getty Images
Army soldiers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant as a precaution against the new coronavirus at a shopping street in Seoul, South Korea
AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing protective gear walks at a hospital for patients infected with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the outskirts of Moscow
via Reuters
A woman who has recovered from the COVID-19 is disinfected by volunteers as she arrives at a hotel for a 14-day quarantine
AFP via Getty Images
Passengers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship are seen as the ship arrives at Daikoku Pier where it is being resupplied and newly diagnosed coronavirus cases taken for treatment as it remains in quarantine after a number of the 3,700 people on board were diagnosed with coronavirus
Getty Images
Dave Abel pictured in hospital in Japan
Manchester United fans in the stands during the Premier League match at Old Trafford
PA
Police officers wearing masks stand in front of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in La Caleta, in the Canary Island of Tenerife
AP
Carnival revellers wear protective face masks at Venice Carnival
Reuters
A general view is pictured of Burbage Primary School in Buxton, Derbyshire after the closure of the school as a pupil’s parent has tested positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19
AFP via Getty Images
People wearing face masks walk past the Olympic rings in front of the new National Stadium, the main stadium for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Game
Getty Images
People leave Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre in Milton Keynes where Coronavirus evacuees are due to be released from quarantine today and allowed to go home
PA
Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside
PA
A woman wears a mask while crossing London Bridg
Getty Images
A general view of Worthing Hospital in West Sussex
PA
Passengers relax on board the Holland America-operated Westerdam cruise ship, which has been denied permission to dock in Thailand over coronavirus fears
via Reuters
A child waves as she sits in a vehicle carrying residents evacuated from a public housing building, following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, outside Hong Mei House, at Cheung Hong Estate in Hong Kong
Reuters
A woman wearing a Minnie Mouse face mask looks at her mobile phone in Beijing on February 11, 2020
AFP via Getty Images
The Costa Smeralda cruise ship of Costa Crociere, carrying around 6,000 passengers, is docked at the Italian port of Civitavecchia after a health alert due to a Chinese couple and a possible link to coronavirus on board, in Civitavecchia, Italy
Reuters
A patient covered with a bed sheet at an exhibition centre converted into a hospital as it starts to accept patients displaying mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan
AFP via Getty Images
A medical official takes the body temperature of a man at the departure hall of the airport in Changsha, Hunan Province, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, China
Reuters
The view of the Wuhan International Conference and Exhibition Center
Getty Images
A plane carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, arrives at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire
A police vehicle enters the gates of the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton
AFP via Getty Images
Passengers wear face masks as the push their luggage after arriving from a flight at Terminal 5 of London Heathrow Airport
AFP via Getty Images
French citizens arrive and settle aboard of an evacuation plane with destination southeastern France, before departure from Wuhan Airport (WUH), China
AFP via Getty Images
Police stand at a checkpoint at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge that crosses from Hubei province in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China
Reuters
A member of staff at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside prepares for a bus carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China
PA
Doctor Paul McKay, who is working on an vaccine for the 2019-nCoV strain of the novel coronavirus, poses for a photograph with bacteria containing fragments of coronavirus DNA, at Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) in Londo
AFP via Getty Images
Workers produce masks at the Thai Hospital Product Company Ltd. factory in Bangkok
AFP via Getty Images
Passengers wearing face masks are seen on a bus after disembarking from the Costa Smeralda cruise ship, after tests on a woman from Macau with suspected coronavirus came back negative, in Civitavecchia, Italy
Reuters
People hoard bottles of alcohol after the Philippine government confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Reuters
Taking precautions: with fears growing that the coronavirus will spread from China, a health official checks a woman’s temperature on the underground in Beijing
Getty Images
An empty road is seen in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province on January 27, 2020, amid a deadly virus outbreak which began in the city
AFP via Getty Images
Students wearing masks meditate prior to a lesson at a high school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
AP
Medical staff at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital wear protective clothing to help stop the spread of a deadly virus
AFP via Getty Images
Staff move bio-waste containers past the entrance of the Wuhan Medical Treatment Center, where some infected with a new virus are being treated, in Wuhan, China
AP
Workers driving excavators at the construction site of a field hospital In Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The builders will complete the 1,000-bed hospital by February 3 to cope with the surge of 2019-nCoV patients in the city
Getty Images
Buddhist monks wear masks as they walk near Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodi
AP
A woman and a child wearing protective masks walk toward check-in counters at Daxing international airport in Beijing
AFP via Getty Images
An employee sprays disinfectant on a train as a precaution against a new coronavirus at Suseo Station in Seoul, South Korea
AP
A policeman wearing a mask walks past a quarantine notice about the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China at an arrival hall of Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan
Reuters
Paramilitary police wear face masks as they stand guard at Tiananmen Gate adjacent to Tiananmen Square in Beijing
AP
The resident wear masks to buy vegetables in the market in Wuhan
Getty Images
Staff sell masks at a Yifeng Pharmacy in Wuhan
AP
Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV
AP
The patients “are recovered or recovering from Covid and who are medically fit for discharge” so do not need specialist medical supervision, an LHG spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson and health chiefs will be questioned on the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine after warnings to abide by lockdown restrictions were stepped up to ease pressure on the NHS.
The Prime Minister will be grilled by senior MPs on the liaison committee after facing Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during PMQs on Wednesday.
Coronavirus in numbers: UK death toll rises by 1,243
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi and health bosses crucial to the jabs programme will also be questioned by the Commons science and technology committee. With rolling out the vaccines key to easing the national lockdown in England, the latest NHS figures showed 2,347,461 people in Great Britain have received a first dose.
Elsewhere, the NHS denied a report in the Telegraph that suggested the vaccine rollout was being paused in some areas to allow other parts of the country to catch up. A spokesman said: “Actually, all GP sites are getting vaccine deliveries this week and next.”
Amid concerns the current restrictions may not sufficiently supress the virus, Home Secretary Priti Patel said a minority of the public are “putting the health of the nation at risk” as she backed a tougher police approach to lockdown rules.
She told a Downing Street press conference on Tuesday that officers are moving more quickly to issuing fines where people are clearly breaching coronavirus regulations, with nearly 45,000 fixed penalty notices issued across the UK since March.
Chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council Martin Hewitt said that more officers will be out on dedicated patrols to deal with rule breakers, while Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has also spoken to councils about enforcing the regulations.
But leaders of police groups called on the Government to clarify the “incredibly vague” rules, which saw two women incorrectly fined for driving five miles from their Derbyshire homes to meet for a walk while the Prime Minister went for a bike ride seven miles from Downing Street.
Latest figures showed that as of Tuesday, a further 1,243 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 99,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.
– Tesco, Asda and Waitrose became the latest supermarkets to take a tougher stance on customers who refuse to wear a face covering without a medical exemption.
– Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that more than 40,000 extra deaths have taken place in private homes in England and Wales since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
– NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson told MPs the peak demand on the health service may not be reached until early to mid-February.