Mexican F1 track turned into a hospital

Mexico’s famous Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is being turned into a temporary hospital for coronavirus patients as the number of infections has significantly increased recently.

Mexico has registered a relatively low number of cases at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, but the numbers have shown significant increases in recent days. As of last Sunday, the country has reported 22,088 confirmed cases and 2,061 deaths. However, the actual number of infections could be significantly higher than the official number due to the lack of testing.

While the number of tests carried out by many countries is well over 10,000 when converted to 1 million people, that value is only 727 in Mexico. As a matter of curiosity, the number of tests projected into a population of 1 million is 121,330 in the United Arab Emirates.

With some hospitals unable to take more coronavirus patients, the Mexican authorities have decided to transform certain facilities into temporary hospitals, including the country's famous F1 circuit. The paddocks and suites along the front straight at the Hermanos Rodriguez course are being currently rebuilt. Eight hospital modules are being set up with all of them incorporating 24 beds.

The pits will be used as offices for consultation with people showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus. The temporary hospital is expected to be ready to receive patients by May 13.

The 2020 Mexican Grand Prix is scheduled for November 1, but it remains to be seen how the sport has to change the calendar after the delay to the season.