Elizabeth II tested positive for Covid in February and had mild symptoms according to Buckingham Palace.
The virus makes you very tired and exhausted, doesn't it? she said Wednesday while addressing former Covid patient Asef Hussain at the virtual opening of a care unit in his name at the Royal London Hospital in the British capital.
Already before catching Covid, the sovereign had considerably lightened her agenda since a night of hospitalization in October, the nature of which was never revealed. Since the beginning of the pandemic, she has withdrawn to Windsor Castle, about 40 kilometers from London, and is now struggling to move around.
Last week, she participated in a religious ceremony in tribute to her husband Prince Philip, who died a year ago, marking her grand return to her subjects after months of absence.
At the end of the meeting with the caregivers, Elizabeth II spoke with the construction team that set up the unit in a few weeks to cope with the increasing number of patients. It's interesting, when there is something vital, everyone works together. It's wonderful, isn't it? she said.
The staff of the British public health system, the NHS, have been under pressure during the pandemic, between long shifts, suffocating equipment and the risk of catching the virus and contaminating their families.
Some 33,000 NHS medical staff resigned between July and September 2021, including nearly 7,000 seeking a better life balance, according to official statistics. That's nearly double the number in the last quarter of 2019, just before the pandemic.
