MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has started converting shipping containers into mobile health facilities as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country continues to rise.
The DPWH said it has prepared the necessary design plans for four high cube containers of 40 feet long by 8 feet width and 9 feet height joined together to create mobile field hospitals for the possible isolation and treatment of 16 probable COVID-19 cases, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said Thursday in a release.
“While the spread of infection seems to have slowed down because of the enhanced community quarantine, we just have to be ready in the event that the situation worsens”, Villar said.
The DPWH chief also announced that the DPWH National Capital Region (NCR) has already finished converting one shipping container into a “prototype health facility.”
“Based on plans for one story health facility, a 40-footer shipping container is divided into four rooms and designed per DOH [Department of Health] guidelines and recommendations to have proper ventilation, and toilet and bath on each room inasmuch as every probable COVID patient needs full isolation,” the release read.
Plans have also been prepared for 20-feet-long high cube shipping containers to be converted into nurses’ stations, utility rooms, and separate temporary quarters for male and female healthcare service personnel.
“We’re ready to convert these containers into mobile hospitals and install them in any available hospital grounds or open public spaces”, Villar said.
A group of volunteer healthcare architects have previously converted shipping containers into emergency COVID-19 ICUs.
There are currently 6,981 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country while 462 people have died, as of Thursday. 722 people have meanwhile recovered.