Britain is verging on a second or third lockdown that will be far more severe than the first, because apparently hospitals are being overrun with COVID patients. Well, someone decided to clip the headlines from The Guardian, a left-wing newspaper in England, that each winter traditionally publishes articles warning that Britain’s hospitals are on the verge of collapse because they are being overrun with patients.
Here are a few of the headlines by year:
- 2012: Hospitals full to bursting as bed shortage hits danger levels
- 2013: Hospitals scramble to prevent crisis in NHS’s toughest ever winter
- 2014: More patients, overstretched doctors – is the NHS facing a winter crisis?
- 2015: Hospital bed occupancy rates hit record high risking care
- 2016: Hospitals in Britain told to put operations on hold to free up beds
- 2017: NHS bosses sound alarm over hospitals already running at 99% capacity
- 2018: NHS intensive care units sending patients elsewhere due to lack of beds
- 2019: Hospital beds at record low in England as NHS struggles with demand
It seems this winter is no different from the previous eight. So, why are hospitals typically stretched to the limit in the winter? Because it is flu and cold season, which the coronavirus is related too.
Webmd explains:
Cold viruses have a lot in common, but each type has its own style, too.
Rhinovirus. This bunch is most active in early fall, spring, and summer. They cause 10%-40% of colds. You’ll feel plenty miserable when you catch one, but the good news is they rarely make you seriously sick.
Coronavirus. These tend to do their dirty work in the winter and early spring. The coronavirus is the cause of about 20% of colds. There are more than 30 kinds, but only three or four affect people.
RSV and parainfluenza. These viruses cause 20% of colds. They sometimes lead to severe infections, like pneumonia, in young children.
But some are reporting that hospitals are oddly empty because, similar to the 2016 headline, they have been cancelling other surgeries. READ: Woman Arrested for Sharing Video of ‘Empty’ Hospital in England
COVID turned from a medical crisis into a political one, months ago.
Reblogged this on Citizens.
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