The Pentagon has awarded a contract for a field hospital at the Miami Beach Convention Center, NBC 6 has learned.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been looking at using the convention center as a medical treatment facility to assist in the coronavirus response, to deal with less serious cases in order to free up beds and space at hospitals.
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Army Corps officials toured the site Tuesday and a command center was set up to house a team of federal agencies, along with state and local agencies.
The estimated date of completion is April 27. The facility was expected to house at least 450 beds but that number could increase in coming weeks.
The MBCC field hospital would be modeled after the Javits Center in New York. Initially, medical personnel were not treating COVID-19 patients. That has since changed. It's unclear if the MBCC will treat patients with COVID-19.
There will be a news conference Wednesday with the Army Corps of Engineers. They are also announcing field hospitals in Memphis; Novi, Michigan; and Melrose Park, Illinois.
The state already has a field hospital up at the Youth Fair grounds in Miami-Dade.
