Chelsea offering club hotel to NHS workers again as England goes back into Covid-19 lockdown

ByEnis Koylu

Updated 07/01/2021 at 14:46 GMT

Chelsea have extended their offer of accomodation for healthcare workers as London is once again gripped by Covid-19 cases and England goes back into a full-scale national lockdown for the next six weeks. The gesture mirrors a similar offer made during the first wave of the pandemic.

Chelsea have once again offered their Copthorne Hotel at Stamford Bridge to NHS workers as England goes back into lockdown due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.

London is once again the epicentre of the new outbreak, with restrictions imposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson set to last until at least February 15, when they will be reviewed.

The strain on the NHS is even greater now, as it attempts to roll out the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines which have been approved by the national regulatory authorities.

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During the first wave in the spring of 2020, Chelsea offered their club hotel, adjacent to Stamford Bridge to provide accommodation to healthcare staff and Roman Abramovich will once again be footing the bill.

"With England back in lockdown, Chelsea Football Club is once more providing accommodation at Stamford Bridge to the National Health Service (NHS)," a club statement read.

"Club owner Roman Abramovich will again be covering the costs of providing the accommodation, which includes bed and breakfast, in the Copthorne Hotel. A similar initiative was rolled out last March in response to the first coronavirus outbreak in London.

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"Many of the medical staff will be working long hours and may not be able to travel home or would have to make long commutes at a time when the virus is so transmissible. The rooms will be initially available until the next government review in mid-February.

"Millennium Hotels and Resorts, who manage the hotel, are supportive and assisting the club in providing this service to the NHS."

The British government has set a goal of just shy of 14 million vaccines for the most vulnerable groups by mid-February, which would allow restrictions to be substantially rolled back and relieve the pressure on hospitals.

Chelsea's rivals Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have offered their stadia as mass vaccination hubs, having both been previously used as mass vaccination centres.

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