In a record time of one week, elements of the Royal Armed Forces managed to set up a military hospital. Six days were enough for these teams which are experienced in this kind of situation to equip a two-level building and a set of 16 tents with a capacity of 160 beds.

A total of 140 beds are dedicated to mild cases, 40 beds for intensive care and 20 other for resuscitation.

This structure, which was provided with advanced equipment and sufficient quantities of the necessary medicine, can, therefore, host up to 360 patients in optimal care conditions, with special attention to the resuscitation, as Covid-19 causes respiratory problems for severe cases.

In this field hospital located at the entrance of Benslimane, not far from the city of Casablanca which registers the highest number of confirmed cases, several sections of the Royal Armed Forces - be they officers, non-commissioned officers, women or men - are fulfilling a national mission which they intend to carry out with dedication.

Each of them privately asked the hierarchy to be on the front line in the fight against the pandemic.

"Upon the high instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Supreme Commander and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), the Royal Armed Forces have set up this military hospital in the Benslimane region to receive Covid-19 cases, in support of national hospitals," Lt. Col. Hicham Qachna, chief medical officer of the hospital, told MAP.

No logistical aspect has been overlooked, as the field hospital also has a laboratory to carry out tests, along with a well-stocked pharmacy and a generator to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

In a sort of trial run, they sift through the entire system, carefully check equipment and each one of them takes his marks to adapt as best as possible to the task assigned to him.

In this health crisis, hygiene rules and precautionary measures are scrupulously observed by the hospital staff, who are provided with appropriate equipment, including masks, gloves and protective gowns.

The medical team at the 2nd Covid-19 Military Hospital is made up of 13 doctors: 3 resuscitators, 2 emergency physicians, a biologist, a pharmacist and 6 general practitioners who were trained to act in such situations.

The paramedic staff includes 69 nurses and their assistants, 39 support soldiers, including two administrative officers, in addition to elements representing the various inspections of the Royal Armed Forces.

"They are all aware of their responsibility and mobilized to fulfill their national duty, faithful in this to our eternal motto: God, the Homeland, the King," said Lt. Col. Hicham Qachna.