tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Ann Intern Med
. 2020 Sep 17.
doi: 10.7326/M20-4746. Online ahead of print.
Managing COVID-19 in a Novel, Rapidly Deployable Community Isolation Quarantine Facility
Ming Li Chia[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dickson Hong Him Chau[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kheng Sit Lim[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Christopher Wei Yang Liu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Hiang Khoon Tan[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yan Ru Tan[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Singapore is one of the most densely populated small island-states in the world. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Singapore implemented large-scale institutional isolation units called Community Care Facilities (CCFs) to combat the outbreak in the community by housing low-risk COVID-19 patients from April to August 2020. The CCFs were created rapidly by converting existing public spaces and used a protocolized system, augmented by telemedicine to enable a low health care worker-patient ratio (98 health care workers for 3200 beds), to operate these unique facilities. In the first month, a total of 3758 patients were admitted to 4 halls, 4929 in-house medical consults occurred, 136 patients were transferred to a hospital, 1 patient died 2 weeks after discharge, and no health care workers became infected. This article shares the authors' experience in operating these massive-scale isolation facilities while prioritizing safety for all and ensuring holistic patient care in the face of a public health crisis and lean health care resources.
. 2020 Sep 17.
doi: 10.7326/M20-4746. Online ahead of print.
Managing COVID-19 in a Novel, Rapidly Deployable Community Isolation Quarantine Facility
Ming Li Chia[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dickson Hong Him Chau[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kheng Sit Lim[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Christopher Wei Yang Liu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Hiang Khoon Tan[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yan Ru Tan[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32941059
- DOI: 10.7326/M20-4746
Abstract
Singapore is one of the most densely populated small island-states in the world. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Singapore implemented large-scale institutional isolation units called Community Care Facilities (CCFs) to combat the outbreak in the community by housing low-risk COVID-19 patients from April to August 2020. The CCFs were created rapidly by converting existing public spaces and used a protocolized system, augmented by telemedicine to enable a low health care worker-patient ratio (98 health care workers for 3200 beds), to operate these unique facilities. In the first month, a total of 3758 patients were admitted to 4 halls, 4929 in-house medical consults occurred, 136 patients were transferred to a hospital, 1 patient died 2 weeks after discharge, and no health care workers became infected. This article shares the authors' experience in operating these massive-scale isolation facilities while prioritizing safety for all and ensuring holistic patient care in the face of a public health crisis and lean health care resources.