Alex Trelinski
WORK has started to take down a COVID-19 emergency field hospital erected next to Valencia’s La Fe hospital.
It was put up in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020.
Field hospitals were also ‘zipped-up’ next to the General Hospitals in Alicante and Castellon in anticipation of a wave of ‘overflow’ patients suffering from COVID-19.
That never happened as only 300 COVID patients used the three hospitals in the Valencian Community, and they were only transferred there after initial stays in ICUs.
Decommissioning work has started at the same time that the Valencia region announced that most COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, with indoor mask-wearing the principle remaining measure.
Dismantling is expected to start soon in Alicante and Castellon.
The Ministry of Health said in a statement that the end of La Fe’s field hospital ‘coincides with the progressive normalisation of the health situation’.
The Alicante, Castellon, and La Fe facilities did however take up roles as bases for both COVID and flu vaccinations.
The Castellon structure was also used as an overflow emergency waiting room while Alicante doubled up as a blood testing zone.
Health officials said that around 200,000 people were treated at the field hospitals for various reasons.
The plan was to dismantle them late last year.
The move was put on hold just in case hospitals were swamped by COVID cases involving the Omicron variant.
READ MORE:-
- Field hospital opens up to treat COVID-19 overflow cases on Spain’s Costa Blanca
- Medical staff at Valencian emergency COVID-19 field hospital complain they ‘cannot cope’ in boiling summer heat
- Fraud quiz starts into contract for COVID-19 emergency hospitals in Spain’s Valencian Community
