4-star hotel in Barcelona turned into hospital for coronavirus patients

A four-star hotel in Barcelona has been turned into a temporary hospital where coronavirus patients are being treated by medical staff of the city's Hospital Clinic, authorities confirmed on Monday.

"For us this is an extension of Hospital Clinic, because our patients are the same patients that we have admitted in our hospital and our health personnel will have an adequate space to treat these patients," said Carme Hernandez, in charge of home-care hospitalization at Hospital Clinic.

Hotel Catalonia Barcelona Plaza, located in the heart of the city on Plaza Espanya, is one of five hotels in Barcelona to open its doors to COVID-19 patients, according to the Gremi Hotels Association.

Hospital Clinic is the fourth hospital in Barcelona to extend its capacity to a hotel. Vall d'Hebron, Diagonal Mar and Sant Pau hospitals have already extended to different hotels and sports halls across the city.

Hospital Clinic's newest extension has the capacity to treat up to 300 patients with less severe coronavirus cases.

"The patients we currently have here at the hotel are patients with mild to moderate coronavirus infection who do not require very important measures for their stabilization but do need frequent medication and therefore represent a significant burden from the point of view of care for both nurses and doctors who are responsible for their care," Chief of Quality and Security at Hospital Clinic Dr. Faust Feu said.

Next week, the premises of the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia will also be adapted as an extension of Hospital Clinic, with space to accommodate more than 200 COVID-19 patients.

The reinforcement has been made possible thanks to coordination between administrations, municipal services and Gremi Hotels Barcelona and with the advice of the NGO (non-governmental organization) Doctors Without Borders.

Barcelona City Council has also transformed various municipal facilities into hospital wards as part of the "Health Pavilion" initiative that will provide 600 extra hospital beds for patients with less severe symptoms of coronavirus. The aim is to reach a capacity of 1,300 beds.