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Volume 2022, Issue 4
  • ISSN: 0253-8253
  • EISSN: 2227-0426

Abstract

Background: Qatar has a unique demographic composition, involving hundreds of thousands of male blue-collar workers living in places where physical distancing measures are difficult to implement. This study aimed to describe the rapid development and operations of a temporary isolation facility, which was composed of tents, for asymptomatic COVID-19 positive migrant workers.

Design: The government established several temporary isolation facilities to house this important group of the community. This was achieved through daily meetings over a short period, thanks to the collaboration of government and private partners, in parallel to the facility being built and required resources procured.

Results: A 3,726-patient capacity isolation facility composed of large tents was constructed in 1 month and was kept operational from April 16 to June 20, 2020. Over that period, it received a total of 18,900 patients. It took 10 days from the decision to set up the first part of the isolation facility to admitting its first occupants.

Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the implementation of unprecedented global public health and physical distancing measures to contain the spread of the virus among the population. Rapidly opening a temporary COVID-19 isolation facility bought the healthcare sector time to set up more permanent solutions to contain the spread of the virus.

© 2022 Alinier, Al Badawi, Gharib, Ramsumar, Morris, licensee HBKU Press.
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2022-11-15
2024-11-08
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/content/journals/10.5339/qmj.2022.55
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Setting up a temporary isolation tent site for asymptomatic COVID-19 positive male migrant workers in Qatar
Qatar Medical Journal 2022, 55 (2022); https://doi.org/10.5339/qmj.2022.55
/content/journals/10.5339/qmj.2022.55
/content/journals/10.5339/qmj.2022.55
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): COVID-19, Isolation, Facilities, Infection control, Temporary and Tent site

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