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Poland to set up more temporary hospitals as virus spreads

12.11.2020 10:40
Poland will create more temporary hospitals to cope with a surging number of patients infected with the coronavirus, officials have announced.
A temporary hospital under construction to treat COVID-19 patients in the southwestern Polish city of Wrocław. The 400-bed facility, one of around 40 such makeshift hospitals planned nationwide, is scheduled to open at the end of November.
A temporary hospital under construction to treat COVID-19 patients in the southwestern Polish city of Wrocław. The 400-bed facility, one of around 40 such makeshift hospitals planned nationwide, is scheduled to open at the end of November.Photo: PAP/Maciej Kulczyński

The country’s first makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients opened this month at the National Stadium in Warsaw, with a planned ultimate capacity of 1,200 beds.

For now, 300 beds are available there, but work is well under way to add 200 more by Sunday, the prime minister's chief of staff has said.

A further 20 temporary hospitals are being built across the country in projects overseen by provincial governors, Michał Dworczyk told reporters.

Meanwhile, state-controlled companies have been ordered to set up an additional 17 such facilities in worst-hit areas, he added.

Temporary hospitals are not intended to replace permanent hospitals, but are needed “as the last line of defense" to support the national healthcare system during a surge in the pandemic, Dworczyk told a news conference earlier this week.

Poland on Thursday reported 22,683 new coronavirus infections and 275 more deaths, bringing its total number of cases to 641,496 and fatalities to 9,080.

(gs)

Source: PAP, TVP Info