The United States, through the Department of Defense’s Southern Command, donated a structure to Maranhão state to set up a field hospital that will accommodate 40 beds, generators, and four ventilators. A delegation from the U.S. Department of Defense is in the state to train the Civil Defense team that will manage the use of the material.
The U.S. government has been committed to helping Brazilian partners since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Maranhão state selected the city of Bacabal, located 250 kilometers from the capital São Luís, as the location for the field hospital. The structure will support 14 other municipalities near Bacabal. On February 8, teams from the Civil Defense and the State Government and Health secretariats trained with a U.S. Defense Department team in Bacabal, and learned to assemble and use the equipment. On February 9, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman, U.S. Consul General in Recife Jessica Simon, and Governor of Maranhão Flávio Dino, took part in an online ceremony marking the donation and inauguration of the field hospital.
The U.S. government and private sector are very committed to helping the Brazilian people fight COVID-19 and together raised $75 million for a series of initiatives, including donation of health equipment, food, cleaning products, and personal protective equipment, as well as projects to support entrepreneurs, artificial intelligence, and the fight against disinformation.