Inside Nasrec: Gauteng’s Covid-19 emergency hospital
With 909 cases so far, the province is preparing to treat the most seriously ill.
Picture for illustration. A ward of beds set up in one of Nasrec’s exhibition halls. Picture: Gauteng health department.
The province of Gauteng is preparing to treat hundreds of people severely infected with the Covid-19 virus.
Medical authorities are setting up a 500-bed hospital at the Nasrec exhibition centre south of Johannesburg, which is normally used for the Rand Show at this time of the year.
The Gauteng health department said the centre had a capacity of more than 2,000 beds, should this become necessary.
An enclosed room complete with a TV in the temporary hospital. Picture: Gauteng health department.
Gauteng health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku said the facility should be ready to house patients by next week. It will also be used to isolate and quarantine people infected with the virus.
One of the wards set up inside Nasrec. Picture: Gauteng health department.
The idea of a specialised treatment centre is to help take pressure off local hospitals should the number of patients become too large.
The Nasrec facility shows the emphasis being put on keeping people apart to avoid the highly contagious virus.
The province has seen 909 cases of Covid-19 so far, but only 62 people have actually been hospitalised across Gauteng.
(Compiled by Mungo Poore)
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