Poland’s Azoty building 150-bed field hospital for Covid-19 patients

LONDON (ICIS)–Grupa Azoty has started construction of a 150-bed field hospital for the treatment of Covid-19 patients under an agreement with the Ministry of State Assets, the Polish chemicals and fertilizers major said on Monday.

State-controlled Azoty said construction had started on Monday; the hospital is located in Krakow, south Poland.

It is being built in cooperation with the Lesser Poland (Malopolska) regional government.

Poland has been hit hard by the pandemic’s second wave. At the end of last week, the Polish health ministry said the total number of confirmed infections had tripled in less than a month, exceeding 300,000.

“The pandemic we are all having to deal with requires specific and quick actions,” said Mariusz Grab, acting CEO of Grupa Azoty, referring to the hospital’s construction.

The company said it has donated Polish zloty 3.2m ($1.3m) to fight the pandemic since it started in March.

It added it has donated filaments for 3D printing technology used in producing personal protective equipment (PPE), and provided assistance to produce sanitizers; Azoty vehicles have also been used for the transport of samples, medical materials, medical personnel, and patients.

($1 = Zl 3.96)