The Jeddah Centre for Exhibitions and Events reopened on Sunday as a field hospital for Covid-19 patients in an effort to alleviate hospitals overrun with cases.
The 500-bed facility now takes up the 8,000 square meter exhibition centre.
Its large white tents house rows of hospital beds as well as a laboratory, pharmacy and X-ray machines.
According to Ali Al Shihri, the site supervisor, the field hospital will open for a trial run with 20 patients in order to ensure the site is properly established and the needed equipment is in place before taking more admissions.
"This is done as a precautionary measure for Covid-19 patients in case they need to have ventilation and then ICU healthcare," he said.
The hospital will have a capacity of 500 beds once it becomes fully operational and includes all the needed auxiliary medical departments including laboratory, radiology, pharmacy and medical supplies.
The site will only take Covid-19 positive patients who require medical assistance.
Saudi Arabia passed 100,000 cases on Sunday and for the second day in a row, the number of new cases was above 3,000.
As of Sunday, the number of cases in the kingdom had reached 105,283, with 746 deaths. So far 74,524 have recovered.
The kingdom has eased some restrictions in much of the country, allowing people to leave their homes, to pray at mosques and meet in small groups. This follows a week's long day-long curfew in much of the country to try and stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. Travel into and out of the country is closed except for Saudi nationals being repatriated or foreigners in the kingdom being flown home.
