HCCI opens, sets aside COVID-19 wing

(CNS): Health City Cayman Islands began the first phase of reopening on Friday after the facility lifted the self-imposed quarantine. This was put in place following the death of a cruise passenger there who had COVID-19, which also triggered government’s concerted action against the pandemic. HCCI has created a separate isolation wing to physically segregate patients who are suspected of having COVID-19 or have tested positive for the virus.

In a press release, hospital officials explained that, initially, HCCI will only deal with emergency referrals for patients needing critical care services. All other services are closed during this phase, including outpatient services and elective procedures.

“As the Cayman Islands’ sole tertiary care facility, it is imperative that we open as soon as possible in order to support the emergency health care needs of the local population,” HCCI Clinical Director Dr Binoy Chattuparambil said.

He said the hospital was fully confident that any potential transmission of the COVID-19 virus there has been suppressed, adding that they were “reassured by the most recent test results”.

All staff at HCCI who contracted the virus after treating ‘patient zero’, as well as an intensive care patient who also tested positive all have mild symptoms or have recovered from the effects of the virus and are no longer contagious.

“We stand ready to assist in the treatment of emergency and critical cases as needed,” Dr Chattuparambil said, noting that further phases of the reopening would be revealed shortly.

He explained that to facilitate the reopening of emergency services and critical care, one wing of the hospital has been physically segregated and assigned exclusively for the isolation of suspected or COVID-19 positive patients. Another wing of the hospital will be used only for newly admitted emergency patients, who will not have any contact with the existing patients of the hospital or the staff taking care of them.

Staff taking care of the new emergency admissions will also be physically segregated from those staff taking care of the existing patients.

Dr Chattuparambil said that, for now and the immediate future, we are all living in a COVID-19 world and must prepare, and the hospital will be treating all patients as though they could be positive for this novel coronavirus.