England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, was spotted working on Covid wards during the Christmas weekend, it has been revealed.
The consultant physician at University College London Hospitals Trust turned up for shifts on the north London hospital’s respiratory ward as the capital was swamped with new cases.
The UK recorded 50,023 new Covid-19 infections and a further 981 deaths in the latest 24-hour period, with a new strain running ragged in the capital.
Ambulances with Covid-19 patients were seen queueing outside hospitals, with footage on social media showing vehicles lined up outside the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel and Queen’s Hospital in Romford, both in east London, on Tuesday.
Prof Whitty, who became chief medical officer in 2018, has become a household name after rising to prominence during the coronavirus crisis and appearing at numerous Downing Street briefings.
In November, he told a press conference at No 10 that he would be “on the wards” at Christmas and urged the public “to have sense” as the national lockdown neared its end.
Related: Petition asks MPs to return to work to support NHS in its “darkest hour”
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
