Table 4 Lessons learned from the MERS-CoV outbreak

Every hospital should have an Infectious Disease Epidemic Plan that should govern the response to an infectious disease outbreak. The response should cover organizing patient services, implementing infection control, managing employee exposure and communicating with national health services and with hospital staff

Hospital leaders should be prepared to increase the capacity of negative-pressure airborne infection isolation rooms in the case of an infectious disease outbreak

All healthcare workers should receive training on proper hand hygiene and personal protective equipment application. Hand hygiene and personal protective equipment practices should be monitored. Education should be repeated periodically

All healthcare workers should be fit-tested for N95 respirators on hire with the result documented in their files. Periodic audit of this requirement should be done

Hospitals should make plans to acutely increase personal protective equipment supplies as consumption increases tremendously during an infectious disease outbreak

Hospital and ICU leaders should have plans to cover healthcare workers who are exposed or become symptomatic to avoid potential staff shortage