London, Oct 12 (AFP/APP):Staff at three field hospitals in northern England are being mobilized to prepare for a surge in coronavirus admissions, health authorities said Monday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepared to unveil a new three-tiered system of localized restrictions. A string of temporary “Nightingale” hospitals were built across the UK in conference centres and stadia earlier this year as Covid-19 swept across the country. Named after nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale and constructed by the military, many were not needed at the time. But they were put on standby last month and three hospitals in the worst-hit regions of northwest England — which accounts for 40 percent of all new cases — and the northeast have now been told to get ready to receive patients. “We have asked the Nightingale hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate to prepare for this next phase,” said Stephen Powis, national medical director for the state-run National Health Service (NHS) in England. Testing for hospital staff is also being stepped up in high-risk areas to try to stop the spread of a virus that has killed almost 43,000 people in the UK — the highest toll in Europe. Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer … Continue reading UK mobilizes field hospitals as virus cases surge