A Highland workforce is helping on the frontline at the epicentre of the Covid-19 crisis in London – where most of the UK’s cases of the virus have been recorded.
Building materials producer Norbord, based near Inverness and at Cowie in Stirlingshire, has been drafted in to supply specially made parts for the construction of the Nightingale temporary hospital.
The makeshift facility is being built at the city’s Excel Centre.
A number of lorry loads of Sterling oriented strand board (OSB) have been dispatched from Norbord’s Dalcross plant near Inverness.
OSB is used for hoarding, roofing and flooring in many large-scale construction projects.
The company is also supplying CaberWood MDF from its Cowie plant.
Amid criticism on social networks, Norbord insists it is adhering to government guidance on so-called social distancing to ensure its workforce is safe. Its “non-critical” staff are working from home.
The firm says at this critical time, its operations are under constant review.
An army of workers is transforming the Excel Centre in east London into the NHS Nightingale Hospital.
The location features two wards, each offering 2000 beds specifically for coronavirus patients.
It will be staffed by NHS medics with the help of the military, providing beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen.
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