MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis toured the Miami Beach Convention Center as it undergoes preparations to become a field hospital.
DeSantis was accompanied by Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and members of the Army Corps of Engineers at around 1:15 p.m., Wednesday.
The Convention Center is expected to be ready with 450 beds at the end of April and will act as a field hospital if needed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s going to be done incredibly quickly,” said Gelber.
On Tuesday, survey teams from the United States Army Corps of Engineers stress tested the building.
Their mobile command center remains parked in front of the convention center.
Those specifically focused on the logistics of the field hospital will sit at desks inside of the mobile command center to direct the operation.
“We hope it won’t be used,” said Gelber. “It’s a precaution, but we don’t want to be caught flat-footed, and we want to be ready for anything.”
It remains unclear if the convention center will exclusively hold COVID-19 patients or those who do not have the virus.
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