Rabat – The Moulay Youssef Regional Hospital Center (CHR) in Casablanca has transformed its 20-bed maternity ward to accommodate COVID-19 patients.
The hospital is in the process of transitioning the pediatric ward for the same purpose, Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) reports.
Now the maternity ward can accommodate 16 “mild cases” and has four rooms for intensive cases. Morocco’s phosphates company, OCP, contributed to the maternity ward’s transformation.
In the pediatric ward, the hospital plans to add 20 beds and some intensive care rooms.
In its current state, the hospital has 60 beds solely for COVID-19 patients.
The hospital has taken special measures to limit infection from patients, setting up cameras, secure doors, and intercoms between patients and medical staff in the areas designated for coronavirus patients.
Moulay Youssef Hospital also has six rooms to handle patients in critical condition requiring resuscitation. The Ministry of Health equipped the rooms with devices to help medical staff continuously monitor patients’ heart rate, pulse, oxygen levels, blood pressure, and temperature.
“We have transformed the hospital into a hub for patients infected with coronavirus who require a heavier treatment protocol and a longer hospital stay,” the hospital’s director, Amina Faham, told MAP.
A “team from MAP,” the state-run news agency, interviewed Dr Faham “during a visit,” despite the nationwide lockdown. Morocco’s state of emergency entered into force on March 20 and severely restricts citizens’ mobility.
Read also: What Foreigners Need to Know about State of Emergency in Morocco
For two weeks, the Casablanca-Settat region has confirmed the most cases of the novel coronavirus in Morocco, reporting 327 cases as of this morning, April 6.
All of Morocco’s earliest cases were tested in the Pasteur Institute of Morocco in Casablanca. Since then, the National Institute of Health and the Mohammed V Military Hospital in Rabat also began performing tests for COVID-19.
Morocco has a total of 1,113 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. As of 1 p.m. today, 71 people have died of the virus in Morocco.
