UK: 4,500 nurses, 500 doctors come out of retirement to battle COVID-19 pandemic

As coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the United Kingdom, the secretary of state for health and social care Matt Hancock took to Twitter to share that nearly 4,000 retired doctors and nurses will be coming out of retirement in a bid to assist those affected by the deadly virus. Currently, UK has more than 5,600 coronavirus cases and the deadly virus has claimed nearly 289 lives in the country. While thousands of medic returned to NHS, Hancock also said that the country still needs more to make sure that the service is put to the best effect. 

In the video, Hancock said, “With coronavirus growing, on Friday we put out the call asking recently retired doctors, nurses, other health professionals, to come back to the NHS to help in this unprecedented crisis”. 

He further added, “I'm delighted that in the first 48 hours, 4,000 nurses and 500 doctors have already signed up. But we need many more. It's easy to do, and we will make sure that your service is put to best effect. The whole country needs the NHS right now, and if you're a retired doctor or a retired nurse, then your NHS needs you”. 

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‘Turn the tide’ 

The British government is reportedly struggling to contain the virus which is drastically spreading across the country despite the city guidelines which have advised all citizens to practice social distancing and non-essential travel. However, while London streets were seen empty, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that they can still, ‘turn the tide’ of the pandemic in the next 12 weeks, only if people follow the advisories issued by the government.

Meanwhile, in a bid to provide support to the economy, the UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, on March 20, unveiled an ‘unprecedented’ wage boost. As per reports, Sunak announced that the UK government will be paying 80 per cent of wages for employees who are not working. The new measure is the ‘first time in the history’ that UK government will step in and pay people’s wages. 

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