Construction of a container isolation ward: A rapidly scalable modular approach to expand isolation capacity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

To the Editor — During the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, airborne infection isolation rooms (AIIRs) are in high demand. Surge capacity is urgently required during significant ongoing community transmission. 1 Converting hospital wards to AIIRs can serve as a temporary solution, 1,2 but it comes at the expense of existing capacity. Temporary tent-based structures or conversion of nonmedical facilities has been com-monly proposed. 3-5 Such solutions, though, may not be durable, and retrofitting nonmedical facilities to meet medical standards is difficult. Building more permanent structures with AIIR capabilities, however, is time-consuming and costly. 5 We describe our institution ’ s experience with constructing an isolation ward from prefabricated containers. In at the > 6 Our ’ s