A new 4,000-bed hospital to treat coronavirus patients will open at the Excel Centre in London (Picture: PA)

The Health Secretary has announced that a new 4,000-bed hospital to treat coronavirus patients will open at the Excel Centre in London.

The NHS Nightingale Hospital will open next week, Matt Hancock has said. It comes after the UK’s coronavirus death toll increased by 87 to 422.

The hospital will contain two wards with 2,000 beds in each and is being set up with the help of the military.

On Monday, the Ministry of Defence revealed that a team of military planners visited the venue in east London’s Docklands to determine how it might be able to utilise the space.


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Mr Hancock said: ‘We will, next week, open a new hospital, a temporary hospital, the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the Excel centre in London.



‘The NHS Nightingale Hospital will comprise two wards, each of 2,000 people.

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‘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 that they need.’

The venue usually hosts industry events, including for defence, travel, hospitality and property sectors, as well as the capital’s Comic Con.

Most of the events its website listed for the coming weeks have been postponed due to government advice to avoid unnecessary social interaction.

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