COVID 3, the newest facility has been adapted in record time as a structure that can act as a quarantine hospital that meets the highest standards and can provide adequate conditions and health care services in the event of a potential second wave of coronavirus later in the year.
Prime Minister Edi Rama inspected the new hospital. The Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu said that the 100-bed hospital will be made available to the recovering Covid-19 patients after being discharged from the Infectious Diseases Hospital and their treatment will continue in the new quarantine hospital until their complete recovery.
“This is the facility that has been made available under the government’s decision to be adapted and act as a quarantine hospital. The entire building has been rehabilitated thanks to the solidarity from the business community and a hospital structure is now built. Based on our scenario, the new hospital will act as quarantine facility for the Covid-19 patients in the event of a surge in the number of fresh positive cases that the current hospital capacities wouldn’t be able to cope with. In the meantime, the facility could be used to treat the recovering patients after being discharged from the Covid 1 hospital, or the infectious diseases hospital, and they may be hospitalized here until their complete recovery. Although it will act as a convalescent hospital, it has been already equipped with intensive care units meeting best health treatment and care standards. The hospital has a 100-bed capacity, including 50 isolation beds ready with oxygen support for COVID-19 cases and the intensive care unit. The rooms in the first two floors have been equipped with oxygen inhalation equipment. The medical personnel rooms are also in the first two floors. Based on our scenarios we have predicted a 400-bed capacity that could be employed in the event of a surge in the influx of patients and we all know that a second wave of infection is most likely to hit in the coming months and therefore we need to be fully prepared to successfully cope with it. Meanwhile, it is very important that a micro-surgery and operating room become also operational in this hospital,” Manastirliu said.
Prime Minister Rama noted that the first wave of the pandemic was best and successfully handled thanks to the doctors and medical workers’ dedication and commitment, as well as thanks to the strictly observed preventive measures, but the risk of an imminent second wave is present. “We successes in best handling the situation, of course, primarily thanks to the doctors and all of you here, but I believe also thanks to the fact that we acted quickly and properly and insisted upon a strict adherence to the plan we have developed. On the other hand, given that no grave and emotionally strong situation didn’t happen here, as it was the case in other countries, the concern over the economy gradually started to gain ground which is quite normal, but it also cherished the idea why all this was needed, when everything was so simple and easy. But the situation remained relatively calm just because of the measures we took. Otherwise, the situation could have been completely different. On the other hand, I hope that a second wave of infection is one of the wrong predictions that have been made over this entire period, with nobody – even in America, Italy, France and other countries with much stronger expertise systems – having no idea about the infection and how to successfully cope with it. I hope a lot that no fresh wave of infections takes place, yet the risk is high and imminent and if people won’t be fully aware that they cannot act normally as previously, but instead observe some basic rules, it could happen that the number of new infections not only will grow, but they will be associated with what we didn’t face during first wave, and this hospital is the right response for us to be ready along with other measures we’re taking to cope with it should a new wave hits the country again.
