14.04.2020.
Everybody’s goal at the Belgrade Fair is to cure the coronavirus patients
Admission of the first patients with mild symptoms of Covid-19 to the temporary hospital at the Belgrade Fair began on 30thMarch. Since then, 403 patients have been admitted to the temporary hospital, and members of the Serbian Armed Forces, after setting up the hospital, have continued their engagement in securing the hospital and controlling access, as well as in the daily disinfection of roads and other areas around Hall 1 of the Belgrade Fair, says Lieutenant Colonel Mlađan Garić, the Deputy Commander of the temporary hospital at the Belgrade Fair.
- Doctors from the military health care and doctors from the Ministry of Health are responsible for the medical care of patients at the Fair, and their work is organized by the Chief Medical Coordinator of the temporary hospital at the Belgrade Fair, Lieutenant Colonel Veljko Milić, MD, of the Military Medical Academy. The nutrition of the patients at the Fair is provided in cooperation with the Student Centre which prepares the food, while the internal disinfection of Hall 1 is performed by the Institute for Biocides. Cleaning of the hall and sanitary facilities is carried out by a private company - explains Lieutenant Colonel Garić, adding that the goal of everyone engaged at the Fair is to provide the highest quality health care conditions for the patients, until they are finally cured from Covid-19.According to Irena Dejanović, an environmental sanitation engineer and a supervisor in the “Coopservice BMK” Company from Stara Pazova, which is in charge of cleaning the temporary hospital at the Fair, the entire physical and chemical cleaning process and disinfection with sodium hypochlorite is performed three times a day, mostly after meals.
- We clean all surfaces accessible to patients, from bathrooms, floors, dining room, showers, to portable toilets. Cleaning is done three times a day, mostly after meals, and we have day and night shifts. There is also a machine crew doing machine floor washing.
Ms Dejanović points out that all workers engaged in the cleaning and disinfection of the temporary hospital are trained in the use of the chemical agents they handle and the personal protective equipment they receive from the Serbian Armed Forces, and that upon leaving the hall, they pass through decontamination area in accordance with the regulations of medical experts.Although during the state of emergency, “Coopservice BMK” also cleans other health care institutions such as the “Dedinje” Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, the University Children's Clinic in Tiršova, the “Narodni front” Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic, according to Ms Dejanović , the temporary hospital at the Belgrade Fair, was a great challenge, but with the daily support and understanding of the members of the Serbian Armed Forces, the company’s employees successfully learned how to work there and are very satisfied with the cooperation with the military.
Daily medical care, food and accommodation is provided for all the patients treated at the Belgrade Fair - 24 hours a day, and numerous donors have made every effort to make the stay at the temporary hospital at the Belgrade Fair as easy and convenient as possible for patients and employees. Besides donations in food and hygiene products, TV sets, books, and magazines were brought to the temporary hospital for the patients’ entertainment.
