Czech Republic Asks EU Partners for Vaccines to Avoid Health System Collapse
The Czech government asked other EU countries to send a portion of their vaccines against Covid-19 to assist Czech hospitals which are rapidly running out of intensive care beds.
The news comes from three high-ranking sources confirmed by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.
There is a risk that hospitals across the country will not be able to take care of all patients. “I am discussing how the improve the situation in the Czech Republic basically continuously,” wrote Babiš.
“It is necessary to tighten up the measures, otherwise in the next two to three weeks, we will have huge problems in the healthcare system. The government will meet again in the evening,” he said.
PM Babis added that Israel was donating 5,000 doses to his country after a request for assistance. He said the Moderna vaccines would be given to 2,500 soldiers assisting in Czech hospitals.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan confirmed that “Guatemala, Honduras, the Czech Republic, and Hungary — nations that have all provided strong diplomatic backing to Netanyahu’s hard-line government in recent years, will receive soon the vaccines.”
Latest statistics
The health ministry recorded 15,672 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, up from 12,601 cases a week earlier and the highest daily tally since January 6.
The official death toll from COVID-19 has reached 19,682, a rise of 145 from a day earlier which includes deaths from Monday and revisions to previous days, according to ministry data.
In total, 1.184 million infections have been recorded since March 2020. Current hospitalizations stand at 6,817, more than double the government’s target level, 1,389 were in serious condition.
The capacity of intensive care units is 85 percent full according to the chief hospital bed coordinator.
The ministry reported 581,542 vaccine shots have been administered.
Slovak minister asks EU partners for vaccines
Slovakia’s foreign minister also called on EU partners on Monday to send an advance vaccine shipment to the central European country which he said was in a “tragic” coronavirus situation with record numbers of cases.
Slovakia has suffered about 100 deaths per day recently, the highest in the world relative to population on a one-week basis and ahead of the Czech Republic, according to data tracker ourworldindata.org.
“I will inform my foreign minister colleagues about the very serious and what can be called tragic situation we have with COVID,” Ivan Korcok told reporters ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
“I will turn to them to ask them, if they have a vaccine they cannot use at the moment, to provide it to us.
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