US donates 40-bed field hospital & 3 utility vehicles worth US$650,000 to St Lucia

Castries: St Lucia receives a donation of a 40-bed field hospital and three utility vehicles from the Government of the United States, worth more than US$650,000. The donation was handed over to the St Lucian government at the Fire Service Training Center in Vieux Fort.

The field hospital donation would assist and boost the COVID-19 pandemic response of the country while augmenting the Health Ministry capacity to handle future natural disasters.

Apart from Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, United States, Ambassador to Saint Lucia Linda Taglialatela, Mr Kevin Bostic – the US Southern Command Director of Exercises and Coalition Affairs were also present at the handover ceremony of the field hospital. After the ceremony, the officials toured the field hospitals with other government officials.

PM Pierre, while appreciating the efforts of the US government, cited, “Today we are seeing yet another gesture from government & people of the United States towards Saint Lucia’s efforts at battling with the COVID-19 pandemic”.

“The field hospital would significantly boost Saint Lucia’s physical health infrastructure, enhance our disaster response readiness, and enable the provision of medical assistance in remote areas,” the prime minister noted, adding that it will furnish the island with a standby capacity in case of emergencies, during these challenging times of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Ambassador Taglialatela asserted, “Here in St Lucia, we are supporting vaccination efforts. Moreover, we are strengthening digital information systems, which will monitor the vaccination coverage rate of the country. And we’re working with you to communicate which COVID vaccines aid prevent serious sickness and save lives”.

Following the statement, she highlighted that donations of these field hospitals would eventually support the rapid deployment of first responders and medical personnel.

According to the statistics, the Caribbean island has recorded more than 18,322 confirmed cases of the contagious COVID-19 virus, while 316 persons scummed to the viral disease in St Lucia.