These regulations allow for changes between tiers. I speak as a veteran of tier 4, and this is an example of the pace of change in public life and the pace at which the virus has affected us all. Milton Keynes has been in tier 4 since 20 December, and it is a fortnight since I lost a night’s sleep on a Tuesday because I was worrying about Milton Keynes going into tier 3. On the Friday we were in tier 2, by Saturday we were in tier 3 and by Sunday we were in tier 4. That is how quickly these things happen. That is the pace at which this virus can overtake our lives. It has been a storm, and it feels like Milton Keynes has been the eye of the storm for most of this time.
Back in February, I remember being taken aside by the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds (Jo Churchill), who put her arm around me—as you could, then—and said, “Darling, I’ve got news for you. There’s a repatriation centre in Milton Keynes, and we’re bringing British nationals and their dependants
back from Wuhan. I’m sorry, but it’s on your patch.” Soon after, we had the second recorded death of covid in Milton Keynes University Hospital. Soon after that, we had the Lighthouse lab with the robot freezers, which is very on-brand for Milton Keynes, and the mobile testing centre. Then we had Ross Kemp visiting Milton Keynes Hospital, and more recently we had a vaccination centre in the hospital, which is now vaccinating up to 400 people a day.
That hospital is amazing. All the staff there are working so hard. They are heroes, and I want to thank them. Currently the intensive care unit is full in Milton Keynes Hospital. They have a contingency plan, but the ICU is full. Bed occupancy is 98%, and 60% of general beds in Milton Keynes Hospital are filled with covid patients. They have more than 200 patients in the hospital with coronavirus, which is twice as many as during the first peak. Everybody at the hospital is working incredibly hard, and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart, because it is our healthcare professionals who will help us get through this. With vaccinations, with new treatments and with this tiered system, we will get through this.
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