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The front lines of the crisis: 19 photos from COVID-19 hospitals around the world.

As the world grapples with the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, our healthcare systems have responded in unprecedented ways.

Convention centres and footy fields across the globe have been turned into makeshift hospitals to house patients suffering from the potentially fatal infection.

Watch: Your most common questions about COVID-19, answered. Post continues below.

Video by Mamamia

It is, of course, a situation rapidly spiralling to extremes, and the images that have emerged from the pandemic are as eye-opening as they are heartbreaking.

At the time of reporting, on March 28, there are nearly 600,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide. Over 27,000 people have died, and 133,000 have recovered.

From the protective gear worn by healthcare professionals to the makeshift hospital tents set up in the United States, these photos demonstrate the extreme measures being taken by hospitals across the globe.

Madrid, Spain

coronavirus hospitals
Health workers prepare to receive the first patients with coronavirus at Ifema exhibition complex on March 22, 2020 in Madrid, Spain.Image: Getty.
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New York, United States

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Hospital bed booths are set up at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center which is being turned into a hospital to help fight coronavirus cases on March 27, 2020 in New York City. Image: Getty.
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Veneto, Italy

coronavirus hospitals
The hospital worker wearing a mask and protective equipment in a tent set up for the triage of patients, at a temporary emergency facility set up outside the accident and emergency department, where any new arrivals who present suspected new symptoms of coronavirus, at the hospital in Padua, Veneto, on March 27, 2020. Image: Getty.

Lisbon, Portugal

coronavirus hospitals
General view of a field hospital at the Lisbons University Stadium to address any needs arising from the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, in Lisbon, Portugal, on March 26, 2020. Image: Getty.
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Rome, Italy

coronavirus hospitals
Doctors treat COVID-19 patients in an intensive care unit at the third Covid 3 Hospital (Istituto clinico CasalPalocco) during the Coronavirus emergency on March 26, 2020, in Rome, Italy. Image: Getty.
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Varna, Bulgaria

coronavirus hospitals
The Bulgarian Navy, together with the National Crisis Staff, conduct military exercise in which they build a field hospital for 300 people in the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna, Bulgaria. Image:

Moscow, Russia

coronavirus hospitals
Russia's President Vladimir Putin wears a yellow protective suit on his visit to the Novomoskovsky multipurpose medical center for patients suspected of the COVID-19 coronavirus infection. Image: Getty.
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Idlib, Syria

coronavirus hospitals
A member of the Syrian civil defence, also known as the White Helmets, sprays disinfectant inside a hospital during a sterilization campaign for hospitals in the city of Idlib against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, after the emergence of suspected cases in the province of Idlib. Image: Getty.
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Massachusetts, United States

coronavirus hospitals
Nurse practitioner Amy Israelian puts on protective gear in a tent in the parking lot of the Newton-Wellesley Hospital before testing a possible coronavirus patient in Massachusetts on March 16, 2020. Image: Getty.

Rome, Italy

coronavirus hospitals
A nurse rests during the Coronavirus emergency at the fourth Covid hospital in the Tor Vergata unit, on March 27, 2020, in Rome, Italy. Image: Getty.
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New York, United States

coronavirus hospitals
People speak near a makeshift morgue outside of Bellevue Hospital on March 25, 2020 in New York City. Across the country schools, businesses and places of work have either been shut down or are restricting hours of operation as health officials try to slow the spread of COVID-19. Image: Getty.
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Rome, Italy

coronavirus hospitals
A COVID-19 patient is treated in an intensive care unit at the third Covid 3 Hospital (Istituto clinico CasalPalocco) during the Coronavirus emergency on March 26, 2020, in Rome, Italy. Image: Getty.

Madrid, Spain

coronavirus hospitals
An ambulance driver wheels a coronavirus patient to a waiting ambulance at the emergency entrance of the Severo Ochoa hospital on March 27, 2020 in Madrid, Spain. Image: Getty.
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Mulhouse, France

coronavirus hospitals
Doctors wear protective gear at a hospital treating coronavirus patients on March 27, 2020 in Mulhouse, France. Image: Getty.
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Rome, Italy

coronavirus hospitals
New beds are seen at the fourth Covid hospital in the Tor Vergata unit during the Coronavirus emergency on March 27, 2020, in Rome, Italy. Image: Getty.

Liege, Belgium

coronavirus hospitals
A new hospital, Clinique CHC MontLégia, in Belgium. The hospital was opened to significantly increase the capacity of the intensive care unit in order to be able to take care of more coronavirus patients. Image: Getty.
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Barcelona, Spain

coronavirus hospitals
A Spanish soldier stands next to beds set up at a temporary hospital for vulnerable people at the Fira Barcelona Montjuic centre in Barcelona on March 25, 2020, during the new coronavirus epidemic. Image: Getty.
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Shandong, China

coronavirus hospitals
Eight doctors and nurses are taking care of patients who has new coronavirus pneumonia in the isolation ward on 01th February, 2020 in Binzhou,Shandong,China. Image: Getty.

Barcelona, Spain

coronavirus hospitals
View of the beds set up at a temporary hospital for vulnerable people at the Fira Barcelona Montjuic centre in Barcelona on March 25, 2020, during the new coronavirus epidemic. Image: Getty.
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Read more:

If you are sick and believe you have symptoms of COVID-19, call your GP ahead of time to book an appointment. Or call the national Coronavirus Health Information Line for advice on 1800 020 080. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.

To keep up to date with the latest information, please visit the Department of Health website.

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Feature Image: Getty.

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