isolation location
THIS is what a room in Ireland's first temporary isolation and step-down care facility at Citywest will look like.
The Citywest Hotel and Conference Centre in Dublin has been transformed to help ease the pressure on hospitals dealing with coronavirus patients.
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The facility, the first of its kind in Ireland, will have 1,200 beds in total.
It has been split into two separate parts with two different functions.
The step-down care facility will be made up of 450 beds and given to people recovering from Covid-19 but who are not yet well enough to return home.
The convention centre floor of the building will have dedicated nursing stations and supports to care for these patients.
This part of the site is expected to open in the next two to three weeks.
SELF-ISOLATION FACILITY
The self-isolation facility meanwhile will have a total of 750 beds.
These will go to people who are asymptomatic, have mild symptoms and are awaiting the outcome of a test or people who have tested positive but have mild symptoms and cannot self-isolate at home.
Some rooms will also have the capacity to accommodate families isolating together.
The facility will also provide personal protective equipment - some of which were delivered to Dublin today from Beijing in China.
The self-isolation facility is due to open later this week. It will not be used by people who require acute care.
There will be designated exercise areas while meals will be provided throughout a person's stay.
It is due to be the first of several temporary facilities set up across the country as health chiefs step up the fight against Covid-19.
MORE FACILITIES TO COME
Speaking today, HSE CEO Paul Reid said: "Our isolation capacity in Citywest is 750.
"Referrals will come mainly from GPs. These rooms will be for people who cannot isolate at home.
"Dedicated exercise areas and meals will be provided throughout the stay.
"We're conscious people may not have the capacity to self-isolate at home and it's the first of other facilities which we plan to deploy across the country."
The new centres are part of a ramping-up of preparations across the healthcare sector in Ireland for the anticipated surge in coronavirus cases.
By utilising private hospital facilities and securing adding equipment, the HSE is set to double the number of critical care beds from 250 to 500.
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As of this morning, 88 patients with Covid-19 were in an ICU bed in Ireland.
However, there are fears that number is likely to soar in the coming days and weeks.
Mr Reid added about 1,700 additional beds with ventilation support would be available, with plans to increase that number by 100 each week for the next ten weeks.
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