Assessment of Rapid COVID-19 Isolation Ward Implementation in Reducing Healthcare Worker Infections

Because of insufficient number of standardized negative-pressure isolation rooms to manage coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), rapid deployment of a temporary isolation ward in our hospital was required. This report is intended to share our experience in the rapid deployment of a temporary isolation ward during a COVID-19 outbreak.

We constructed a temporary hospital ward with 22 negative-pressure single-bed patient rooms to take care of COVID-19 patients. One-way traffic control for healthcare workers (HCWs) was designed. The temperature, humidity, and air changes per hour in each room were monitored. Each fan above ceiling of the nurse station was equipped with two ultraviolet-C (UV-C) 254 nm lamps to sterilize the environment and provide fresh air. All HCWs in the unit were tested for COVID-19 once a week by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal samples.

During the period of May 31-June17, 2021, 55 patients with COVID-19 were admitted to this isolation ward, which was constructed in 2 days. The mean air changes per hour of the patient room were 11 times, and the temperature and humidity were 20.6°C and 74%, respectively. The pressure differential between the patient rooms and the corridor was 3 Pascals (Pa), lesser in the rooms. All of 966 PCR tests performed for HCWs were negative.

The temporary COVID-19 isolation unit, constructed in 2 days, was effective for patient care and protection of HCWs.