- Title: Colombia army hospital in new battleground against coronavirus
- Date: 23rd March 2020
- Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (MARCH 22, 2020) (REUTERS) FIELD FACILITY IN COLOMBIAN MILITARY HOSPITAL COLOMBIAN SOLDIER WEARING FACE MASK HOSPITAL DIRECTOR GENERAL CLARA ESPERANZA GALVIS WALKING IN FRONT OF TENTS NURSES WALKING IN FRONT OF TENTS VARIOUS, NURSES PREPARING HOSPITAL BEDS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COLOMBIAN HOSPITAL DIRECTOR GENERAL, CLARA ESPERANZA GALVIS, SAYING: "We are planning, firstly, to expand the intensive care unit. Secondly, to expand care on the floor for patients who require hospitalization, and we have this third line, which are the tents that you see here, that are part of a field hospital. Each one has 11 stretchers and will allow for the attention of patients with mild symptoms or who are in transition to isolation, or to other areas that have already been assigned." VARIOUS, SOLDIERS WALKING IN FRONT TENTS GENERAL VIEW OF TENTS VARIOUS, PEOPLE PREPARING THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT GALVIS SUPERVISING WORK INTENSIVE CARE UNIT UNDER CONSTRUCTION (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NURSE, YEIMY JOHANA SEPULVEDA, SAYING: "We are prepared for that (coronavirus), we have also received training. We are on continuous 12-hour shifts daily to work and give everything for the care of our patients. " VARIOUS, AMBULANCES FIELD HOSPITAL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COLOMBIAN HOSPITAL DIRECTOR GENERAL, CLARA ESPERANZA GALVIS, SAYING: "We (medical team) have our young population that live in military units. We cannot go home to be in isolation (quarantine) so we must also continue to be protected. However, what we have learned from other countries is that we are going to have cases and we are preparing for that. " VARIOUS, MAN WEARING PROTECTIVE CLOTHES CLEANING STRETCHER COLOMBIAN FLAG GENERAL VIEW OF BOGOTA
- Embargoed: 6th April 2020 22:29
- Keywords: COVID-19 Colombia coronavirus military hospital
- Location: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
- City: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
- Country: Colombia
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001C69YJIF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Colombia's central military hospital, which for decades was inundated with victims of landmines and other casualties of the country's internal conflict, is being outfitted to battle a new enemy: coronavirus.
The hospital's staff parking lot is now home to eight generator-supplied tents, each with 11 beds, meant to house coronavirus patients without respiratory complications in an effort to avoid crowding the existing intensive care unit.
The Andean country will enter a nationwide 19-day quarantine this week aimed at preventing further spread of the virus, which has killed more than 15,300 people worldwide. Colombia has 277 confirmed infections and three deaths attributable to the virus.
The hospital, set close to the steep hills that descend to Bogota's eastern fringes, is used to very different kinds of patients. During the height of the country's armed conflict between the government, leftist rebels, right-wing paramilitary groups and drug cartels many patients were security force personnel injured by bombs, bullets and landmines. The conflict has killed 260,000 people.
The health ministry predicts that up to 4 million people, about 8% of the population, could contract coronavirus in Colombia.
(Production: Herbert Villarraga, Daniel Munoz) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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