In recent months, Legado Lima 2019 has become one of the key organizations collaborating in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in Peru. Thanks to hosting the Pan American and Parapan American Games in 2019, the country was able to apply lessons learned in infrastructure, equipment, protocols, and operations to combat COVID-19, repurposing and transforming modern infrastructure—originally built to host the continent's largest multi-sport event—to confront the pandemic.
In April, the Special Project Legado Pan American and Parapan American Games had already made the Villa Panamericana available to the country. With a capacity of 3,288 rooms, it formerly housed athletes from participating countries, making the facility one of the largest Temporary Care and Isolation Centers on the continent. Legado also adapted the Punta Rocas High-Performance Surfing Center to serve as a residence for medical staff and National Institute of Health professionals, aiming to reduce infection risks for personnel and enabling the safe processing of coronavirus samples. In addition, the project contributed to setting up the "Casa de Todos" temporary shelter in the Plaza de Acho, which houses vulnerable individuals from the streets of Cercado de Lima and Rímac.
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The first confirmed case of the coronavirus pandemic in Peru was reported on March 6, 2020. Since then, by studying the methodologies adopted by countries where the disease had spread at an earlier stage, governments began taking proactive measures, not only to achieve maximum containment of the disease but also to prepare for future hypothetical scenarios where the number of infections might exceed health system capacities. Peru's response was based on proactively reinforcing its healthcare infrastructure by building a network of Temporary Care and Isolation Hospitals using mobile infrastructure in the districts of El Agustino, Comas, and Puente Piedra, as well as the provinces of Cañete and Huacho.
Leveraging their experience in building the Lima 2019 sports venues in record time, the team designed, built, and opened 5 mobile hospitals to expand the capacity of healthcare facilities. The construction of these temporary units was projected to add 4,654 general hospital beds and 232 ICU beds nationwide, across the regions of Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Loreto, Ucayali, Áncash, Arequipa, and Cusco; in Metropolitan Lima, mainly in the districts of San Martín de Porres, El Agustino, Comas, and Puente Piedra; and in the cities of Huacho and Cañete.
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The temporary facilities were built using dry construction methods to accelerate construction times. They were designed specifically for COVID-19, featuring high ceilings to accommodate air supply and extraction systems to prevent contamination, as well as oxygen connection points for individual bedside tanks.
- For more information on the works of the Pan American and Parapan American Games Special Legacy Project, you can visit their website.
- Discover more articles, interviews, and news from Peru at the following link.
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This article was written by Belén Maiztegui. The translation is powered by AI.
