Hassan, Bou Saab Inspect the Lebanese Canadian Hospital’s Readiness to Receive Corona Patients

28 Mar 2020

Lebanon – Public Health Minister, Hamad Hassan, toured Saturday the Lebanese Canadian Hospital in Sin El Fil, accompanied by former Defense Minister, MP Elias Bou Saab, and the Hospital Director, Dr. Joe Toutikian, whereby they inspected its various sections and its readiness to receive "Corona" patients soon.

Bou Saab thanked the Minister of Health and the Ministry staff for their undertaken efforts during these exceptional circumstances, as well as the staff of Rafic Hariri Governmental Hospital and all other hospitals, "because they are most vulnerable to corona infection and are putting their lives at risk in order to help others."

Bou Saab urged all those who are capable of extending a helping hand in every region not to spare any effort to do so, noting that "the responsibility does not stop at certain borders, because the whole world is suffering, and all of Lebanon is enduring this crisis."

The MP disclosed that the Metn region has recorded the highest number of infected patients, which has reached 70, adding that "this province is overpopulated and there is no hospital equipped for emergency Corona cases, as there is only one government hospital that is not equipped at the moment, namely the Dahr Al-Bashiq Hospital, which is to be included in the second phase of the Health Ministry's plan."

In this connection, Bou Saab announced his initiative to rent the Lebanese Canadian Hospital building in Sin El Fil for a year and allocate it to receive Corona patients, since it has been closed for about 7 months and can rapidly be placed at the patients’ disposal.

Minister Hassan, in turn, considered that these initiatives from all volunteers and all groups provide a true model on how to approach the situation at hand, stressing on the importance of making sure that what is being provided reaches the people in need of health and social care and assistance.

Hassan disclosed that the Lebanese Canadian Hospital will be equipped soon, with the joint cooperation between the civil society and the Health Ministry, to receive and care for coronavirus infected cases.

"The hospital can be ready within a week or 10 days for hotel services and illness cases within two weeks," the Health Minister stated, adding that "in the event of an epidemic outbreak and declaring a state of emergency, the hospital can be equipped within 4 weeks so that it will have a large capacity for absorbing patients."