The new facility is set to receive the severe cases of COVID-19 that require intensive care and resuscitation.
Rabat – The field hospital that the Ministry of Health established at Ibn Tofail hospital in Marrakech is now ready to receive COVID-19 patients.
In particular, the hospital is set to treat patients with severe symptoms.
The governor of the Marrakech-Safi region and mayor of the city of Marrakech, Karim Kassi-Lahlou, attended the inauguration of the field hospital.
The official called for the acceleration of the hospital’s final alterations so it can begin treating COVID-19 patients as soon as possible.
In addition to intensive care units, the health facility includes 100 beds equipped with oxygen tanks for pre-resuscitation.
Morocco’s Ministry of Health established the field hospital in record time with the aim to expand the capacity of the Ibn Tofail hospital and alleviate the pressure on other hospitals of Marrakech.
The Director of the University Hospital Mohammed VI (CHU) of Marrakech, Lahcen Boukhanni, told Morocco’s state media that the field hospital may increase its accommodation capacity if necessary.
He added that the new facility is set to receive severe cases of COVID-19 that require intensive care and resuscitation, to allow other local hospitals to care for less severe cases.
During his visit to Marrakech on August 19, Minister of Health Khalid Ait Taleb announced the launch of the Marrakech field hospital following a surge in local COVID-19 cases.
The hospital is also a response to the region’s medical staff who have denounced their unsafe working conditions.
The staff of Ibn Zohr wrote a letter to the head of the hospital, announcing their decision to end the provision of COVID-19 services starting August 17, due to the “lack of safety conditions.”
The region of Marrakech-Safi recorded yesterday 176 new COVID-19 cases, including 96 in the city of Marrakech. The region now accounts for 16.07% of COVID-19 cases in Morocco.
The city of Marrakech also recorded six deaths yesterday due to COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Casablanca hosts the majority of COVID-19 cases in Morocco. The city also witnessed the inauguration of a new field hospital in the Ben M’sik district on August 23.
Read also: Morocco 3rd in Africa in COVID-19 Cases, 2nd in Screening Tests
