Mobile 'COVID bubble' comes to Sydney hospital

A mobile isolation bubble for COVID-19 patients – the first of its kind in Australia – has been set up at a Sydney hospital to prepare for a possible second wave.

St Vincent's Hospital deployed the technology after nearby clusters prompted action.

The COVID-surge ward has been converted into two negative pressure rooms that can house eight patients.

Dangerous airborne particles are filtered out, and the ceiling and windows are sealed to prevent the virus escaping.

"What this gives us is something that's portable, reusable, cleanable," St Vincent's acute care services director Todd McEwan told 9News.

It comes several weeks after dozens of patients tested positive in nearby restaurants in Potts Point.

The European mobile technology was developed after COVID-19 tore through northern Italy during the first wave.

"We knew we needed more in the event the waves were significant on the basis of the calculations that were being presented to us by the state," Mr McEwan said.

Patients from emergency still waiting for their test results will also be sent to the bubble, to reduce the risk of transmission.

But fortunately, most patients can be managed at home, through the hospital virtual clinic.

"We have a service whereby we will call them every day to see how they're going, to see how their symptoms are," Dr Gail Matthews of St Vincent's said.