Patient beds at Bristol's Nightingale Hospital are still empty almost a week after construction work was completed.
The official opening ceremony at the NHS facility took place on Monday, but it was ready for use last Saturday.
No patients have been admitted to any of the 300 beds yet, and health bosses are hoping it will never need to be used at all.
The specialist coronavirus unit will only be used if other South West hospitals run out of capacity and need extra space to cope.
Staff who have been seconded to work there have received training and are ready to treat patients, but will only be called in when their services are required.
Marie-Noelle Orzel, chief officer of NHS Nightingale Hospital Bristol, explained: “Staff training is taking place so that we are ready to receive patients whenever the need arises.
"Until that time, and as was always planned to be the case, staff will remain with their current employers, looking after the patients who currently need them."
The hospital is situated inside a conference centre at the University of the West of England's Frenchay campus, and is run by North Bristol NHS Trust.
It is one of seven Nightingale Hospitals across the country, along with others in London, Manchester, Exeter, Sunderland, Harrogate and Birmingham.
London's is the biggest and was the first to open, and it has been reported that about 50 patients had been cared for there during its first three weeks.
Birmingham's Nightingale had not admitted any patients during its first two weeks, and there are hopes that Bristol's will remain empty too.
Prior to the hospital opening, Ms Orzel said: "I think many of us have asked ourselves ‘why do we need Nightingale Hospitals?’, and I suppose personally, I’m hoping that we may never need to use this facility.
“But what we need to be prepared for is ‘what if?’. What if we do need more intensive care beds, across the Severn network?”
