Plans in the works for New Orleans Morial Convention Center to be used for COVID-19 patients

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EXPERIENCE ISOLATION GOING THROUGH COVID-19. >> WE ARE STANDING UP WHAT WE ARE CALLING OUR MEDICAL STATION. REPORTER: MAYOR CANTRELL ANNOUNCES POSSIBLE PLANS TO UTILIZE THE MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER AS A HOSPITAL SITE FOR COVID-19 PATIENTS. SHE’S ANTICIPATING A CRITICAL NEED FOR MEDICAL CARE, AS THE CASES CONTINUE TO RISE. >> IT WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO UP TO 3000 PATIENTS. THESE ARE PATIENTS THAT ARE POSITIVE, PATIENTS THAT HAVE BEEN GETTING TREATMENT AND SERVICE AT OUR HOSPITALS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. REPORTER: THE GOAL IS TO FREE UP SPACE IN THE EXISTING HOSPITALS. OFFICIALS SAY STAFFING WOULD COME FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. THOUSANDS OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS, INCLUDING HELP FROM MEDICAL STUDENTS. >> THIS WILL NOT BE NECESSARILY OUR LOCAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDING THIS, BECAUSE THE TRAINING WILL BE INVALUABLE FOR STUDENTS. WE KNOW OUR FRONTLINE HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN THIS COMMUNITY ARE FULLY ENGAGED IN THIS. THEY ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, AS FAR AS FROM THE FACILITIES THEY WORK AT. REPORTER: IT’S A DECISION LEADERS ARE NOT TOO FOND OF. IN A STATEMENT FROM OUR MEDIA PARTNER, BOARD MEMBERS SAY THE IDEA BROUGHT BACK BAD MEMORIES FROM HURRICANE KATRINA, WHEN THE BUILDING WAS USED AS A SHELTER. THE BOARD CHAIRMAN SAYS "WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANT TO TRY AND COME BACK FROM TRAGIC IMAGES AND WHAT IT MEANT FOR THE BRAND OF TOURISM IN NEW ORLEANS AFTER KATRINA." RESIDENTS WE SPOKE TO THINK IT’S THE RIGHT MOVE. >> I’M CONCERNED ABOUT THERE BEING CAPACITY. I’M YOUNG, BUT I’M STILL CONCERNED. >> I THINK IT’S A GREAT IDEA. WE NEED TO UTILIZE EVERYTHING WE CAN. NEW ORL

Advertisement Plans in the works for New Orleans Morial Convention Center to be used for COVID-19 patients Mayor Latoya Cantrell, Gov. Edwards expect hospitals to be at critical stage by Apr. 7 Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Hospital beds will soon move into the New Orleans Convention Center.Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced tentative plans to use the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans as a site for COVID-19 patients who have been treated and are in need of isolation.Cantrell anticipates the need for the building in the coming weeks as the number of positive coronavirus cases continues to rise in the area."Our data shows April 7 is the benchmark for hospital capacity," Cantrell said.Gov. John Bel Edwards said during a news conference Thursday that the plans are in the final phases with necessary contracts being reviewed and approved.Edwards said the current plan is to stage 1,120 hospital beds initially.Cantrell said Wednesday that the convention center could ultimately house 3,000 beds.Edwards said the number of beds that ultimately go into the convention center will depend on how the outbreak continues to transpire in the New Orleans metro and if the curve of cases begins to flatten.New Orleans itself is nearing 1,000 coronavirus cases.The convention center was considered as a site for patients after the state couldn't work out a deal with the local hotel industry to handle hospital overflow. It's a decision that leaders of the sixth-largest convention facility in America are not in agreement with.In a statement to our media partner The Lens, convention center board Chairman Melvin Rodrigue says, “We know what it meant to try to come back from tragic images and what it meant for the brand of tourism in New Orleans after Katrina."The decision to use the convention center is a matter of state government, and Cantrell believes the convention center will need to be utilized by early April.Click on the video to see the story.