As she spoke to health workers and a former patient about her own experience with “this awful pandemic,” Britain’s Queen Elizabeth said COVID-19 had left her “extremely fatigued and exhausted.”
In February, the 95-year-old Queen of England tested positive for COVID and was reported as having moderate, cold-like symptoms. She was eventually reassigned to minimal responsibilities.
The queen, who is a patron of the Royal London Hospital, spoke to National Health Service personnel at the hospital via video chat, thanking them for helping to establish and maintain a 155-bed facility to deal with an influx of patients needing breathing assistance.
Her chat with personnel took place as she attended the hospital’s Queen Elizabeth Unit’s official opening.
“Isn’t it incredible, isn’t it, what can be done when it’s needed?” she remarked late Sunday in comments provided by Buckingham Palace.
Asef Hussain, who had been gravely ill with COVID-19 and had lost family members to the illness, was also interviewed by the queen. “This dreadful pandemic does make one quite fatigued and exhausted, doesn’t it?” she asked him.
The queen inquired about the patients’ reactions to not being able to see their loved ones. “It was clearly a terrifying event,” she added.
Since being hospitalized for a night last October for an unspecified illness, Elizabeth, who turns 96 later this month, has cut back on engagements.
