Cubicles in London’s ExCel centre show likely scale of coronavirus crisis

Rows upon rows of cubicles hastily erected in London’s ExCel centre show the expected scale of the explosion in numbers of coronavirus patients.

The effort should see the temporary facility in the capital’s Docklands open its doors this week to its first patients, with capacity ultimately reaching 4,000 beds.

Initially 500 beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen will be used to treat the seriously ill, and their numbers are expected to swell in the capital ahead of the rest of the nation.

The NHS will build more temporary hospitals in Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Scotland.