A total of 500 new hospital beds will be made available in worst case scenario preparations by the health authorities in the face of COVD-19. 

In a press conference on Sunday, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced the government had worked to redistribute resources and shift patients away from a hospital setting to free up resources and curb the spread of the virus. 

“We want to avoid a tsunami and instead have a river, a steady flow of patients that we can plan for,” Fearne said, noting that it was preferable to see 10 new cases every 30 days than 300 cases in 3 days. 

The minister said that 26 isolation beds have been made available in another hospital while another 12 beds are also available at the Sir Paul Boffa Hospital. 

As of Monday a total of 40 beds out of Mater Dei while a further 93 will free up as of next week. Preparations are being made for a total of 213 additional beds to also be available in two weeks. 

Staff is being given the necessary training to be able to meet the requirements of the additional beds, he said.

Additional areas at Mater Dei have also been freed up to accommodate additional hospital beds. Lecture rooms and the library at the University of Malta medical school have been cleared out and converted into wards, currently freeing up an additional 136 beds bringing the number up to 247 beds by the end of the month. 

A further 80 beds will be made available at the Gozo General Hospital. More information about patient isolation in Gozo will be disseminated this week, the minister said. 

As from Monday the dermatology unit at Boffa hospital would be moving to a facility in Gzira, and patients who have appointments will be able to receive treatment there. The Boffa facility will be reserved exclusively for COVID-19 patients. 

As from Tuesday, all non-elective surgery would be cancelled. Only emergency, trauma and cancer related surgeries will continue as necessary. 

While saying that "unfortunately" all elective surgeries will have to be deferred, Fearne promised that all postponed surgeries would be rescheduled within six months of the hospital returning to regular function. 

The minister also announced that the second person who had the novel coronavirus had now tested negative for the virus and had been discharged under self-quarantine. 

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