The St. Joseph Mercy Hospital (SJMH)  has launched a brand new COVID-19 testing and treatment facility at the St. Paul Retreat Centre at Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara.

A release from the hospital today said that the new “COVID-19 Testing, Treatment and Isolation Centre” meets all national criteria for such a facility and was licenced by Guyana’s Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) after a stringent inspection.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) of SJMH,  Deborrah Ramsay, said the hospital was keenly aware that COVID-19 testing and treatment can be overwhelming and wanted to make the hospital’s highly skilled personnel and medical resources available to help control the spread of the disease and assist those who contract it.

Ramsay said the Catholic Church of Guyana promptly joined the hospital’s cause, and Bishop Francis Alleyne of the Diocese of Georgetown allowed the SJMH to use one of the church’s buildings for the COVID-19 centre.

The hospital spent $20 million to develop the centre as an all-inclusive COVID-19 facility.