Government criticized on several aspects of its response to the pandemic (File)
London:
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to pay £ 3 billion to the National Health Service (NHS) of England to try to deal with any resurgence of the coronavirus as he sets the next stage in his recovery plan for Britain.
Great Britain is the most affected country in Europe by COVID-19 with a count of confirmed case deaths of more than 45,000.
The government has been criticized on several aspects of its response to the pandemic, including the fact that it was too slow to impose a lockout and failed to increase testing capacity quickly enough.
In recent weeks, the country has eased lockdown restrictions as infection rates have dropped, but the government has said it must now start to prepare for a second potential peak of cases during the winter.
“The Prime Minister is clear that this is not the time for complacency, and we must ensure that our NHS is ready for battle for the winter,” said a spokesperson before a Johnson press conference.
Johnson is also said to be ready to change formal guidelines to encourage more people to return to work, although ministers denied there would be a major change.
“It is up to employers, of course, to decide whether people can return to a safe office space, an office environment or their workplace,” said Safety Minister James Brokenshire.
Chief scientific advisor Patrick Vallance said Thursday that working from home was an effective measure of social distancing and he saw no reason to change it.
The £ 3 billion increase for the state-funded healthcare system will be immediately available and the use of private hospitals and temporary field hospitals will be allowed until March, the government said.
Total annual funding for the NHS in England exceeds £ 115 billion.
The funding announcement only applies to the UK health service, with increases in effect for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to be defined later.
The government will also increase the capacity and flexibility of testing, strengthen its stocks of protective equipment and, being wary of increased pressure from other seasonal diseases, increase its annual flu vaccination program.
(Reporting by William James; additional reporting by Sarah Young edited by Stephen Addison)
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
