With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to rise across the province, Burlington's Joseph Brant Hospital has announced that it is building a Pandemic Response Unit to treat patients. The new structure will have 93 beds and will be the first temporary COVID-19 facility in Ontario. It will also be staffed with volunteer physicians from across Burlington.



The facility is expected to open by mid-April, and construction only began on Tuesday, according to 680 News.



“Physicians from the Burlington community are volunteering to provide patient care in the Pandemic Response Unit, treating COVID-19 positive patients with acute care needs who may require oxygen therapy and ongoing monitoring," says the hospital's statement.



The hospital already has 71 beds saved for COVID-19 patients, according to CityNews. Adding the extra 93 is part of the hospital's pandemic response plan, says their news release.



“The Pandemic Response Unit is being built as a critical part of our pandemic response plan to meet the heightened care needs of our community and ultimately save lives,” says Eric Vandewall, President & CEO of the hospital.



"The Federal government has provided an extra $500 million to provinces to support our health care system," says the press release.





The structure is coming from Alberta manufacturing company Sprung Corporate.



In a tweet, the company shared a photo of the new facility getting shipped to Ontario on March 29.



"This 8250 sq ft Sprung hospital structure left Calgary at 2 pm today bound for Burlington, Ontario by rush team shipment. When erected over the next week, BLT Construction will outfit this emergency structure with 100 urgently needed hospital beds. #COVID19 #BeatTheVirus"



Earlier this week, Doug Ford warned that a massive surge of patients could be entering Ontario hospitals in the next two weeks.

This large number of people seeking treatment could even lead to shortages of equipment.

However, various large companies including IKEA have been donating leftover facemasks to local hospitals across the province in attempts to limit this shortage.

According to the Government of Ontario's website, there are currently 1,966 confirmed cases across the province as of Wednesday morning.