Prince William worried about first responders & emergency workers' mental health in the UK

Prince William recently said that he is concerned about the mental health of ambulance drivers in the United Kingdom. He also said that he is worried about police officers and other first responders who are being exposed to the trauma that the virus has posed. “I fear…you’re all so busy caring for everyone else that you won’t take enough time to care for yourselves, and we won’t see the impact for quite some time”, said William during a video call with the emergency workers. 

According to the reports by AP, the  London Ambulance Service said that it is receiving about 8,000 emergency calls a day. As per a tally by the John Hopkins University, the UK has a total of 3,357,361 cases with 88,590 fatalities. The growth in cases has increased the rate of hospitalizations by a total of 70 per cent. 

Read: COVID-19: UK Shuts Down All Travel Corridors From January 18 To Curb Virus Spread

William shared his own experience as he has worked about as a former search and rescue helicopter pilot. He said, “I think a lot of the public don’t understand that when you’re surrounded by that level of intense trauma and sadness and bereavement, it really does, it stays with you at home, it stays with you for weeks on end, doesn’t it?”. He added, “And you see the world in a much more, slightly depressed, darker, blacker place”.

Current situation in the UK

Recently, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Britain will shut down all travel corridors from 4:00 GMT January 18 to protect the nation against the “risk of as yet unidentified new strains”. Any individual travelling into the UK from other nations will have to carry the proof of a negative COVID-19 test before setting off. The blanket ban on travel came after the UK banned travellers from South America and Portugal that came into force on January 15 amid fears of new variants discovered in Brazil. Johnson, in his address from Downing Street, informed that the new COVID-19 restrictions will stay in place until February 15. 

Read: UK Man Offers £50 Million In COVID Relief To Search Dump For Hard Drive Containing Bitcoin

British Pm’s announcement on January 16 came after the UK recorded 1,280 more deaths less than 30 days of being COVID-19 positive taking the total casualties to  87,291. Further, the UK government figures showed that at least 55,761 new cases had been reported. Meanwhile, the world surpassed another grim milestone in COVID-19 pandemic with at least two million people dying of the highly-infectious disease across the globe, as per the Johns Hopkins University tally. Boris Johnson said that the new restrictions were “vital” and to take extra measures now  "when day by day we are making such strides in protecting the population".

Read: COVID-19 Variant First Found In UK Might Cause 'rapid Growth' In US, Warns CDC

Also Read: UK Imposes Travel Restrictions Amid Worries Of New Variant

(Image Credit: AP)