A sign indicates directions to a Coronavirus pod at a hospital in London; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that Britons can only leave their homes for essential reasons or may be fined, in order to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus EPA
A sign indicates directions to a Coronavirus pod at a hospital in London; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that Britons can only leave their homes for essential reasons or may be fined, in order to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus EPA
A sign indicates directions to a Coronavirus pod at a hospital in London; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that Britons can only leave their homes for essential reasons or may be fined, in order to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus EPA
A sign indicates directions to a Coronavirus pod at a hospital in London; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that Britons can only leave their homes for essential reasons or may be fin

UK coronavirus: 170,000 NHS volunteers sign up in one night to combat Covid-19


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A call by UK government for 250,000 NHS volunteers to join the battle against coronavirus has been met with an overwhelming response as 170,000 people signed up overnight.

The volunteers are needed to help the 1.5 million individuals who have been asked by the government to shield themselves from the coronavirus because of underlying health conditions.

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on the country’s most vulnerable to the disease to isolate for 12 weeks as part of Britain’s attempts to alleviate pressure on the health service.

Overnight, a total of 170,000 people have signed up to be volunteers for the NHS, according to a senior doctor.

Stephen Powis, NHS England medical director, said three volunteers a minute had registered to help.

"It's an absolutely astonishing response," he said.

"This is a health emergency, we can all play a role in ensuring we get on top of coronavirus and at the same time expand capacity in the NHS," Mr Powis added.

Any member of the British public who is over the age of 18, fit and healthy and non-symptomatic can sign up on the health service’s website to become part of the NHS Volunteer Responders scheme.

Those who register can be called on to do simple but vital tasks such as delivering medicines from pharmacies, driving patients to appointments and bringing them home from hospital. Volunteers could also be asked to make regular phone calls to check on people isolating at home.

The NHS Volunteer Responders scheme is not intended to replace local groups helping their vulnerable neighbours but is an additional service provided by the NHS.

GPs, doctors, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, NHS 111 advisers and social care staff will all be able to request help for their at-risk patients.

“In these extraordinary times, it’s essential that we all pull together as part of the national effort to protect the most vulnerable, reduce pressures on our NHS and care system and save lives,” UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

“If you are well and able to do so safely, I would urge you to sign up today to help the most vulnerable people in our communities as an NHS Volunteer Responder,” he added.

The UK is scrambling to adapt to the mounting health crisis posed by Covid-19. The volunteer scheme was launched as another 87 people died of the virus, bringing the overall UK death toll to 422. There are now more than 8,000 confirmed cases in the country.

At the same time, British military forces have also become a visible presence on the streets of London with 20,000 troops reportedly on standby.

Members of the 101 Logistics brigade have been called in to deliver protective equipment, including face masks, to NHS staff.

The military is also converting the ExCeL London, a venue in east London, into a pop-up hospital to treat the country's sick during the coronavirus outbreak.

Major General Timothy Cross, who ran Nato's emergency relief operation in Kosovo and Macedonia in the 1990s, said it was a "big process" to create a field hospital, but said that the military was used to such undertakings.

The first patients at the site are expected to be admitted next week.

Members of the military, part of the Covid-19 support force, are also next week due to start running the NHS Nightingale hospital, which has capacity to treat 4,000 coronavirus patients across two super wards.

THE SPECS

Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre

Transmission: Seven-speed auto

Power: 165hp

Torque: 241Nm

Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000

On sale: now

THE SPECS

Engine: 4.4-litre V8

Transmission: Automatic

Power: 530bhp 

Torque: 750Nm 

Price: Dh535,000

On sale: Now

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The biog

First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974  
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work

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Normcore explained

Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.

MATCH INFO

Jersey 147 (20 overs) 

UAE 112 (19.2 overs)

Jersey win by 35 runs

JAPAN SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5