Dubai converts World Trade Centre into 3,000 bed field hospital for coronavirus patients

Dubai's World Trade Centre, a skyscraper in the city-state's financial district, was converted into a field hospital for coronavirus patients.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

16 April, 2020

Dubai's World Trade Centre will soon contain thousands of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients [Getty]

Dubai on Wednesday transformed its World Trade Center into a large field hospital, state news agency WAM has reported, in an effort to boost treatment capacity for coronavirus patients.

Local media has reported the skyscraper's large exhibition halls will feature 3,000 beds, including 800 for patients in intensive care.

The new field hospital will partally open on Thursday with a 1,000 bed capacity, according to Gulf News.

Dubai, one of the seven emirates making up the UAE, announced a lockdown earlier this month in order to carry out tests in densely populated areas.

The UAE has introduced strict measures since its COVID-19 outbreak, including halting travel and closing shopping malls and entertainment venues.

As of Thursday, the UAE has reported 5,365 coronavirus cases and 33 deaths.

Earlier this month, a UAE-owned company was forced to backtrack from a decision to charge the UK's overstretched National Health Service (NHS) millions of dollars in rent for the use of the newly constructed hospital for Covid-19 patients.

The Nightingale hospital in east London was constructed at breakneck speed earlier this month inside the ExCel, a convention centre owned by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec).

However, a Sunday Times report prompted outrage on Sunday after it revealed that Adnec was charging the NHS up to £3m a month ($3.6 m) for renting its facilities, at a time when the NHS's resources are under severe strain and the UK's coronavirus infection rate is increasing exponentially.

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