Non-urgent surgery and outpatient appointments are being delayed but serious operations will go ahead.
The major incident was declared in Essex in response to a significant growing demand on hospitals. It will enable local leaders to seek further government support, the Essex Resilience Forum (ERF) said.
Hospital bosses in Southend and Basildon also made a plea for any clinical staff who are on annual leave to return to work immediately to relieve the pressure.
The ERF - which is made up of members of the NHS, emergency services and local authorities - added that the number of patients in Essex receiving treatment for
Essex coronavirus: Matt Hancock looks at Army request favourably basildonstandard.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from basildonstandard.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
NHS worker Katherine Raven took a video of her neighbours ringing bells in Essex.
She said that the NHS Mid and South Essex Health and Care partnership had been working locally to promote the event.
The Prime Minister and his fiancee Carrie Symonds also promised to take part, after they phoned organiser Mary Beggs-Reid about the campaign on Tuesday morning.
However, there was no sign of the Prime Minister during a live stream of the front door of Number 10 Downing street at 6pm.
Mrs Beggs-Reid, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, said her event is “more needed now than ever” after strict measures have been put in place across the UK to help combat the spread of coronavirus.
Essex hospitals to welcome extra 145 nurses in 2021 basildonstandard.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from basildonstandard.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
· Stifford Clays Health Centre, Grays And the Beacon Medical Group, at Danbury Medical Centre, Chelmsford, will also be rolling out the vaccine. Nurses, paramedics, pharmacists and other NHS staff will work alongside GPs to vaccinate those aged 80 and over, as well as care home workers and other health care workers - identified as priority groups for the vaccine. Residents of care homes will also receive their first vaccine shortly after distributors finalise new, stringent processes to ensure safe delivery of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine. Like staff at Basildon Hospital, who launched their campaign last week, local practice teams are working rapidly to redesign their sites and put in place safe processes to meet the tough logistical challenges of offering the vaccination.