Manama: Amid a surge of new infections, Dubai government converted exhibition halls at its World Trade Center into a field hospital for Covid-19 patients, local media reported.
The makeshift hospital has a capacity of 3,000 beds, including 800 for intensive care patients, said the centre’s director of engineering Ali Abdulqader.
This is part of Dubai’s attempt to boost hospital facilities to handle a potential increase in Covid-19 patients. This is the largest hospital in the Middle East and set to open its doors on Thursday.
According to reports, the centre is one of the two field hospitals that Dubai is building to handle the increasing numbers of coronavirus patients.
Currently Dubai hospitals have between 4,000 and 5,000 beds available.
Earlier this week, Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of Dubai Health Authority, said that health authorities were preparing to increase their capacity to up to 10,000 or more beds.
The emirates has expanded its coronavirus rapid testing programme with drive-thru test centers and massive testing laboratory. According to the health ministry, the county has also been using hydroxychloroquine to successfully treat COVID-19 patients.
The UAE confirmed 5,365 covid-19 cases and 33 virus-related deaths as of Wednesday.
The UAE is the second worst hit country in the GCC after Saudi Arabia in terms of infection and deaths. The country registered five deaths and 432 new positive cases, on Wednesday alone. The pestilence takes hold across the country with more than 300 to 400 new infections on each day of this week.
The Emirate has the highest number of recovery in the GCC, 1034 to date.
The neighboring countries are also doing the same. Saudi Arabia’s education ministry said that more than 3,400 schools in the Kingdom would be used to rehouse migrant workers from cramped accommodation. Around 2.5 laks expat workers being shifted to the schools.
Bahrain has converted the multi-storey car park of BDF military hospital into a 130-bed intensive care unit for patients with COVID-19, local media said. At the makeshift ICU, each bed is equipped with a ventilator.
