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A paramedic gets out of an ambulance outside the Royal London Hospital in the Whitechapel area of east London, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. Health authorities across the U.K. simplified COVID-19 testing requirements on Wednesday, a move designed to cut isolation times for many people and that may ease the staffing shortages that are hitting public services amid an omicron-fueled surge in coronavirus infections. A string of National Health Service local organizations have declared "critical incidents" in recent days amid staff shortages. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)