Tuesday 23 / April / 2024
Muscat: The first phase of the field hospital for COVID-19 patients at the old Muscat Airport was inaugurated on Monday by Sayyid Saud bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of State and Governor of Muscat in the presence of Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Saidi, Minister of Health.
“This hospital will play a vital role in reducing the burden on the hospitals across the Governorate, and accordingly, those hospitals will be able to do their usual work normally,” Sayyid Saud Al Busaidi, Minister of State and Governor of Muscat, said.
The Minister of Health said that the control in the number of COVID-19 cases depends on the adherence of citizens and residents.
The government has provided and will continue to provide all means to combat this pandemic, which is our responsibility as individuals, institutions, families, community and stakeholders, he affirmed.
He added that it is very sad to register 207 cases in the ICUs for COVID-19 in the Sultanate and 45 deaths during the past days.
“This hospital has been completed in a record time of less than two months which had never been done in the history of the Sultanate,” he added.
The Minister of Health also touched upon the COVID-19 vaccine, where he stressed that a number of manufacturers have reached the phase 3 trials. The Ministry is in constant contact with all these firms, however, there is no specific date to start manufacturing the vaccine commercially.
He emphasised that the Sultanate will not use any medicine or vaccine unless it has ascertained that it is safe and effective.
As soon as all the medical and technical equipment along with the health workers, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, and radiologists are deputed, the hospital will start receiving patients. The first phase of the hospital will start with a capacity of 100 beds; however, the number of beds in the hospital will reach 312 in the next phase.
A shelter centre will be attached to the field hospital with an area of 10,000 sqm and a capacity of 384 beds. The shelter will be transferred to a hospital, if necessary.
The aim of establishing a field hospital is to relieve the pressure on the Sultanate’s hospitals, and to bring back the essential services that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to maintain the health of the medics in the hospitals and changing the general atmosphere for the COVID-19 patients during admission.
Currently, the field hospital will cater to the patients from governorates of Muscat, South and North Al Batinah, Al Dakhiliyah, and North Al Sharqiyah and other governorates will be covered, if necessary, in the future.
The COVID-19 field hospital, which has an area of 6,100 sqm, has admission beds for mild and moderate cases, a temporary care section, a pharmacy, a laboratory for COVID-19 cases and a radiology section. It will be run by a medical team from the Ministry of Health, comprising 30 doctors, 115 male and female nurses, 7 lab technicians, 7 pharmacist assistants and 7 radiologists.
The field hospital has been established in collaboration with a number of government and private authorities including the Ministry of Health, Civil Aviation Authority, Oman Airports, PDO, Royal Court Affairs and Royal Oman Police and others.
-With inputs from ONA
