Companies and governments all over the world are developing prototypes of shipping container treatment pods. Specifically, Italian companies. Architects are building pods with a design to work as a standalone unit, or connected by an inflatable corridor structure to create larger, multi-bed clusters. [v] This specific architect in Italy building these pods estimates each one to be produced for around $100,000. Moreover, this includes all medical equipment, which is around a third of the pre-bed cost of an emergency fabricated hospital. [v]
In Macon, Georgia, state contractors will set up 18 shipping containers side-by-side in a parking lot outside Middle Georgia’s largest hospital. This is only if the city sees a surge in COVID-19 patients. Like other treatment pods, these will also be used for patients with less serious conditions, leaving the more seriously ill to hospitals. [vi]
A local builder in Gwinnett County (Georgia) says when he started seeing the need for extra room in hospitals, he knew it was his time to step in. After leasing a warehouse in Lawrenceville, GA and hiring 80 contractors in under two weeks, they’re now working 17-hour days, 7 days a week to build these treatment center pods. Each pod contains 4 patient rooms, including bathrooms connected by a corridor. [iv]
“Dr. John Wood, director of the hospital’s emergency centers, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that the makeshift rooms will only be used if necessary, and that if they are, ‘[they will be able to] take care of (patients) just like regular hospital patients, just outside the main facility.’” [vi]