Azerbaijan Opens A Modular Hospital for Treating COVID-19 Patients

Caspiannews.com
By Ilham Karimli May 8, 2020

Azerbaijan’s first modular hospital, opened in Baku on Thursday, is designed for accommodating and treating the patients with moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19.

The hospital consists of three individual modules and was installed on a 3,000 square meter area. The overall number of rooms in the center is 100, each of which is for accommodating two patients, putting the facility’s full capacity at 200 patients.

During the hospital’s opening, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said the construction of modular hospitals is a preventive measure as part of the Caspian country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that Azerbaijan has succeeded in the first stage of this battle.

“Of course, this hospital and the hospitals to be built in the future will play a big role in the fight against coronavirus,” President Aliyev said, according to the official presidential website President.Az. “It is planned to build 10 such hospitals in different regions of the country. Of course, increasing the number of beds plays a special role in battling the coronavirus for each country.”

A modular hospital consists of individual parts that are called modules and are mutually interconnected. Quick to manufacture and install, the modular configuration allows hospitals to offer the most efficient solution for patient accommodation by keeping the same level of the quality of medical care.

Construction of modular hospitals in Azerbaijan follows an official order signed by President Ilham Aliyev on April 7 as part of additional measures aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic. According to the order, the Finance Ministry was allocated around $9 million to provide funds for the construction of six clinics in Baku and other cities.

The first modular hospital was built and opened within three weeks. Five more clinics are expected to come online in May, while four other hospitals, with construction funded by the local private companies, will reportedly open by mid-June. Once all ten hospitals are operational, the facilities will be able to accommodate 2,000 COVID-19 patients simultaneously.

Board chairman of Azerbaijan’s Administration of the Regional Medical Divisions (TABIB) Ramin Bayramli said modular hospitals are being built in the vicinity of other medical centers that are currently treating the COVID-19 patients in the country. He said the facilities are designed to ensure the efficient use of the medical resources and provide immediate hands-on assistance through the special COVID-19 treatment brigades.

Today, over 20 state-owned hospitals serve COVID-19 patients in Azerbaijan. One of the largest and most modern hospitals in the country, the 575-bed New Clinic was launched shortly after the outbreak began in the country and coronavirus patients have been treated at the facility since March.

As of May 7, Azerbaijan recorded 2,204 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections and 28 fatalities from the virus, according to a statement issued by the Operative Headquarters, a special government structure that deals with coronavirus cases in the country. The number of recovered patients is 1,551, while 625 individuals are being kept at hospitals for treatment. The overall number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Azerbaijan currently stands at 175,910.

More than 3.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 266,000 deaths resulting from the virus have been reported globally as of May 7, while more than 1.3 million recoveries have been accounted for, according to the free reference source Worldometers.

The government issued a month-long special quarantine regime order in Azerbaijan on April 4. However, the lockdown was extended until May 31. Currently, flights to and from Azerbaijan are banned, while borders remain closed. Movement of the people in the capital Baku and other major cities such as Sumgait, Ganja, and Lankaran is being allowed through a special SMS permission system.