International humanitarian organisation, Samaritan’s Purse, has completed its seven-tent emergency field hospital in the Bahamian capital Nassau. The facility will exclusively treat COVID-positive patients as of Monday, October 19 and forms part of the country’s national response to the pandemic. (Photo: Facebook @OPMBS)

The Bahamas’ national response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has been bolstered by international humanitarian charity, Samaritan’s Purse, following the construction of an emergency field hospital in the capital Nassau on Sunday (October 18).

According to a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister, the COVID-19 care facility, located on Princess Margaret Hospital is set to begin operations on Monday and is complemented by a 33-member team of doctors, nurses, and other key staff.

The unit has a capacity for 20 patients and was designed to specifically care for COVID-positive patients—comprising seven tents, a temporary ambulance bay as well as male and female patient wards with toilet facilities. The emergency field hospital also boasts donning/doffing areas for staff personal protective equipment (PPE), staff work areas, staff bathroom facilities and medical supplies.

The unit was erected with assistance provided by members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) after work began on Saturday.

Volunteers from the US-based charity, Samaritan’s Purse, started the construction of a coronavirus field hospital in the Bahamas on Saturday. The facility is scheduled to be fully operational as of Monday, October 19. (Photo: Facebook @SamaritansPurse)

The ongoing COVID epidemic continues in the Bahamas as the commonwealth confirmed 75 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 5,703.

The Bahamas currently has 2,245 active cases under observation with another 3,422 cases declared closed from either patients reporting a full recovery (3,300 to date) or dying from coronavirus-related complications (122 deaths).

Samaritan’s Purse, headquartered in Boone, North Carolina, is a non-denominational Christian organisation that has provided spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world.

Since its inception in 1970, the non-aligned charity has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine.

Most recently, a team of volunteers were on hand to offer humanitarian aid to residents in the US state of Louisana after a double battering from hurricanes Laura and Delta, which both struck as powerful category four storms.