180-bed field hospital for COVID-19 patients being built at Western Fair
Alvin Yu | CBC News | Posted: April 3, 2020 5:11 PM | Last Updated: April 3, 2020
Hospital officials say the facility will be for patients who are recovering but not well enough to go home
Usually used to host trade shows and show off livestock, the Western Fair's Agriplex will be turned into a new field hospital for COVID-19 patients, the London Health Sciences Centre says.
The facility will initially have 180 beds, with a possibility of expanding to 500 beds, hospital officials said Friday.
The Agriplex field hospital will be used for patients who are recovering from COVID-19, but not yet well enough to go home.
In an interview with London Morning on Monday, Dr. Chris Mackie, the region's medical officer of health, said a field hospital would alleviate the burden on existing health-care facilities.
The announcement about the field hospital comes as the Middlesex-London Health Unit reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total to 92 confirmed cases.
Hospital officials say the field hospital will be prepped and ready to go, but will only start admitting patients when the need arises.