[Photo by SY Co.]

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SY Co., a South Korean maker of sandwich panels and other construction materials, has launched a new modular negative pressure patient room that can be quickly built and mobilized in response to emergency situations including treatment of patients infected by COVID-19.

The small ward structure designed in cooperation with local roof builder Steel Life can meet the needs of hospitals to isolate, transfer and treat infected patients in a negative pressure setting in a far more affordable way, said SY chief executive Cho Doo-young on Thursday.

A negative pressure room requires a technology that purifies the air inside the room contaminated with viruses or infectious bacteria with a special filter and supplies it back to the room.

But this facility costs at least 200 million won ($165,000) per room, while SY’s new modular concept with a size of 18 square meters is just one-fifth the price.

A quarantine service is also provided in collaboration with Green F5, a local sterilization company, according to SY.

The modular structure takes a week from factory production to installation. It can be used as a multi-purpose house equipped with residential functions and convenient facilities. In case of a natural disaster, it can be quickly moved to affected areas to shelter people. Most of the building materials are recyclable.

Cho said the company is receiving inquiries from overseas companies for possible exports to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United States and Peru.

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