The UK's secretary of state for health and social care has taken to social media to praise 4,000 retired nurses and 500 doctors who have signed up to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Matt Hancock said he was "delighted" that such a large number of former healthcare professionals had responded over the past 48 hours to the government's call for recently retired staff to come back to work.

"Delighted that 4,000 nurses and 500 doctors have signed up to return to the NHS in the first 48 hours of our call. Brilliant support in our national effort tackling," he captioned the video addressing the encouraging turnout.

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He did, however, stress that while this is a great start to fight this "unprecedented crisis", much more needs to be done.

"But we need many more. It’s easy to do, and we will make sure that your service is put to best effect. The whole country needs the NHS right now and if you’re a retired doctor or a retired nurse then your NHS needs you," he continued.

Hancock also acknowledged the "heroic effort from all those working so hard in our national effort to tackle coronavirus."

Watch as Italian neighbors sing to each other amid the coronavirus lockdown:

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This comes after it was announced that the NHS has struck a deal with private hospitals to acquire thousands of extra beds, ventilators, and medical staff, per the BBC. The publication detailed that an additional 8,000 hospital beds, nearly 1,200 ventilators, and almost 20,000 qualified staff will be available from next week.

The agreement means that the UK's private sector will essentially be reallocating almost all its national hospital capacity to the NHS. These extra resources will also help the NHS deliver other life-saving treatments.

Chief executive, Sir Simon Stevens, praised the deal, asserting: "We're dealing with an unprecedented global health threat and are taking immediate and exceptional action to gear up."

"The NHS is doing everything in its power to expand treatment capacity and is working with partners right across the country to do so."

4,000 nurses and 500 doctors to come out of retirement in 48 hours to battle COVID-19