[4] An isolation ward was setup at the hospital with support from the World Bank during the avian flu epidemic.

"[5] In June 2019, the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division sought help from the UN Health Agency in bringing the isolation ward up to standards.

[6] After the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the hospital took to studying the report but was sceptical about being able to bring the ward into operation due to the cost involved and the difficulty in getting the work done under the public procurement procedures.

The staff at the hospital were provided training and its six cabin beds were designated the makeshift isolation care units for handling suspected cases of the disease.

[3] It was criticised for its handling of the crisis after it emerged that the hospital had continued to discharge suspected patients before getting the test results despite the fact that the first and only confirmed patient of the disease had also been discharged one week before the test came back positive.