DUBAI — The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) inaugurated on Tuesday a Hospitality Care Centre, a specialized facility treating infectious diseases. The center is located in the Dubai Industrial Zone and it consists of three floors, which include 88 dedicated rooms for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, from normal to critical cases. The state-of-the art center has highly specialized clinics, pharmacy, laboratory, radiology and follow-up services and is equipped with the latest critical care equipment and technology to support its functioning. It is designed in a manner that provides flexibility and the possibility of expanding it to 170 rooms in case the need arises. The center is operational round-the-clock, seven days a week and the center has already begun to receive a number of COVID-19 cases. Patients will receive high-quality care under the management and supervision of Rashid Hospital, since the center is directly affiliated with the hospital. During the inauguration, Humaid Al Qutami, director-general of the Dubai Health Authority, stressed that the DHA spares no effort in fulfilling all the requirements of the current and upcoming stages, especially with regard to infectious diseases, specifically the global COVID-19 challenge. He also confirmed that since the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic until today, the authority has been able to harness all its capabilities to meet this challenge, and at the same time, it has worked to increase the capacity of its medical facilities, in anticipation of any developments. He explained that this center represents an important addition to the high-quality health care services that the authority has provided, which has significantly helped in improving the recovery rate of COVID-19. Al Qutami added that the DHA is keen to strengthen its infrastructure and technology to tackle healthcare challenges. He said that the authority has established such a center, so that in the future it will be an international center specialized in treating communicable diseases, and at the same time, it will be a highly advanced laboratory for radiology and diagnostic tests as well as an advanced center for epidemiological research and studies. Al Qatami was accompanied by Dr. Younis Kazim, CEO of Dubai Healthcare Corporation, Dr. Amer Ahmad Sharif, head of Dubai’s COVID-19 Command and Control Centre and the Vice Chancellor of the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences; Dr. Farida Al Khaja, CEO of Clinical Support Services & Nursing Sector, Ahmed Al Nuaimi, CEO of Joint Corporate Support Services, Dr. Fahd Baslaib, interventional cardiologist and CEO of Rashid Hospital, Dr. Muna Tahlak, CEO of Latifa Hospital for Women and Children and Dr. Mansoor Nathari, medical director of Rashid Hospital. At the end of his inspectional tour, Al Qutami reiterated the DHA’s commitment to continuously work and deploy all its capabilities in order to overcome the global COVID-19 challenge. — WAM