– to house patients needing to be put in quarantine

THE Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and support organisations on Thursday installed two pre-fabricated housing units in the compound of the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital in Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice) to add to the facility’s capacity to accommodate COVID-19 patients, should the need arise.

Head of the installation team, Major Loring Benons disclosed that the Units were among a large number donated to the Government of Guyana by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the installation at Mahaicony Hospital is the first of its kind at a healthcare facility here.
Similar Units are to be eventually installed in the compounds of healthcare facilities countrywide.

Regional Health Officer and Head of the Region Five Emergency Operations Centre (REOC), Dr. Desmond Nicholson  disclosed that as of Thursday, there were no confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Region, and that the two pre-fab units will boost accommodation for isolation in Region five from ten to 14 beds fourteen beds.

The pre-fab units are generally 12’ X 12’ in size, and can each accommodate two patients comfortably. And while they have doorways and windows, other facilities like toilet and lighting and water supply and so on will have to be installed separately.

According to Major Benons, the Units can be dismantled and assembled elsewhere in the hospital’s compound or wherever they may be needed.

The assembly team comprised members of the UNHCR Guyana office; CDC officials and volunteers; members of the Volunteer Emergency Response Team (VERT); and Region Five’s Senior Engineer Mr. Dhanpaul Sukha.