Prince Charles has opened a new 4,000-bed temporary hospital in a conference centre in east London, the first of several being built in Britain to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

The new state-run National Health Service (NHS) Hospital is named after the trailblazing 19th-century nurse Florence Nightingale and has been built in just nine days.

Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son and heir officially launched the facility via videolink from Scotland, where he has been in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.

Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaks during a television interview at the opening of the "NHS Nightingale" field hospital, created at the ExCeL London exhibition centre, in London on April 3. — AFP
Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaks during a television interview at the opening of the "NHS Nightingale" field hospital, created at the ExCeL London exhibition centre, in London on April 3. — AFP

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