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One of Belgium’s best-equipped hospitals to treat patients infected with the new coronavirus (Covid-19) has launched a call for donations to buy life-saving ventilators.

“Our hospital is making preparations to go through a long crisis,” Saint-Pierre Hospital in Brussels wrote in a statement. “We need to obtain additional medical equipment, including around a dozen ventilators.”

“We really need one of these devices next to each intensive care unit bed. It is vital for patients with coronavirus,” spokesperson Nathalie Schaar told The Brussels Times.

“Unfortunately, we are bracing for a peak in [hospitalisations]. Right now, we have 35 beds in intensive care unit all equipped with a ventilator, and I suspect we are not the only ones who need more,” she said.

Along with Antwerp’s University Hospital, Saint-Pierre is one of the best-equipped hospitals to manage highly infectious diseases.

Before the government mobilised all general hospitals against the pandemic, both hospitals were initially designated as the official centres to treat Covid-19 patients.