Officials of the Ministry of Public Health have expressed optimism that works will be completed before the week runs out at the various makeshift centres in Yaounde and Douala set to host COVID-19 patients.

Since Saturday, work kicked off at the Yaounde Military Stadium where an isolation centre is expected to be erected with a capacity of 600 beds to host the patients.

The same works are going on at a structure in the Mvog Mbi neighbourhood which was previously occupied by a supermarket.

Here, the upper floor has been refurbished to contain close to 300 beds while the basement will be used to host the laboratories, oxygen supply system, mobile toilets as well as other administrative units.

In Douala, six sites have been retained to host COVID-19 positive patients in that part of the country, notably the gynaeco-obstetric and Pediatric hospital in Yassa (which will host critical cases), the Logbaba district hospital, the Bonamoussadi and Nkoulouloun health centres and the Reunification stadium.

All these sites were chosen following a coordination meeting between local administrative authorities and officials of the Ministry of Public Health at the start of the week in Douala.

Other isolation centres have been earmarked and set up in the other regions to handle cases that may come up.