LONDON, UK: According to health officials, a number of new "surge centres" will be set up in the United Kingdom as the country's National Health Service (NHS) prepares for a flood of Omicron hospital admissions.

NHS England has announced that temporary facilities capable of accommodating about 100 patients will be erected on the grounds of eight hospitals across the country, with work beginning as soon as this week.

According to sources, NHS trusts have also been asked to identify spaces such as gyms and education centres that might be transformed into patient beds, and more sites could be added to generate up to 4,000 "mega surge" beds around the UK. "The NHS is currently on a war footing," stated NHS National Medical Director Stephen Powis, "given the high frequency of Covid-19 infections and growing hospital admissions."

"We don't yet know how many people who have the virus will require hospital treatment, but given the number of illnesses, we can't wait to find out before acting, therefore work to ensuring these facilities are in place will begin today." According to official numbers, the United Kingdom reported a new record increase of 189,213 coronavirus infections in the most recent 24-hour period, increasing the overall number of cases in the country to 12,748,050.

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