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Questions raised over Ocean View Hotel as COVID-19 hospital
There are growing questions now over the decision by authorities to use the Ocean View International Hotel as a quarantine facility for COVID-19 patients.
On April 4th, head of the National COVID-19 Task Force, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo announced that Ocean View was among buildings to be used as facilities for the incubation, isolation and quarantine of persons infected with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Head of the COVID-19 Task Force, Moses Nagamootoo
Taking into consideration that the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) projects that by early May, Guyana will be dealing with 20,000 cases of COVID-19, the Task Force acted on a suggestion for a specialty health facility.
Since this announcement, works have already commenced at the Ocean View Hotel located at Liliendaal, located along the seawall, obliquely north-west of the MovieTowne mall.
From reports received, Government will need to expend a hefty sum to make the old hotel hospitable for COVID-19 patients since the facility has been closed for a while.
On social media, it was suggested that other private health facilities could have been approached with negotiations done in a hurry with even the recently upgraded doctors’ quarters used.
The Ministry of Public Health had made it clear that it was finding it hard to find suitable places to use in a hurry for quarantine and isolation areas for COVID-19.
However, one private citizen, Robbie Rambarran, who questioned the logics of the choice of Ocean View, asked about the arrangement between the owner and government, and for details of the financial arrangements including the expenditure of works being done, and about “the real owner of the said property and what is the cost of the rental?”
During a press conference on COVID-19 on Saturday, Nagamootoo was asked whether the Task Force will be approaching Central Government for funding.
He did not know the immediately details of where the money is coming from and how much it will cost, but admitted that it is going to see a major allocation of funds from Central Government.
He said that the Cabinet Conference has been briefed on the arrangements but the matters would be engaging the subject ministers including the Ministry of Finance.
Nagamootoo said: “I would not think of a situation where you are doing a major project and this has not been coordinated.”
The hotel had once been used to store medical supplies for the Ministry of Public Health.
Works are in full swing to prepare the hotel to cater for several hundreds of beds for patients.
The ongoing works at the hotel.
Among other things, the roof has been taken off and there are major works ongoing.
These include to the bathrooms and to damaged tiles in the facility.
It will cost several million dollars.
Over the weekend, concerns have been raised about the long term justification for the use of the hotel and the arrangements that government has entered with the owners.
In recent years, spring tides have been wreaking havoc from the overtopping.
Due to the hotel’s close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, back in 2013, the facility took a hit after high tides resulted in significant damages amounting to millions.
The owner, Jacob Rambarran, had then spoken to Kaieteur News, explaining that the entire building was flooded within minutes of the risen tide.
The strong waves had bolted through the hotel’s lobby and into 20 rooms as well as two offices and a storage room in the bottom flat of the building.
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