“I have a better feeling than I had around Christmas”
Translated by Adriana Dancu
It appears that the number of Coronavirus patients in the hospitals has reached its highest point and is about to decline in terms of infections, says Ernst Kuipers, chairman of the National Acute Care Network, in his weekly press conference.
The figures for the past week plot an erratic course, possibly because of the holidays, says Kuipers. However, he is hopeful that hospital occupation has now “reached a stagnant point.” “Although I say that very carefully. It could be that the figure will go up again tomorrow. But that doesn’t make me nervous. I have a better feeling than I had around Christmas. Then we really wondered: where is this going?” said Kuipers.
In total there are now 2845 people with a Coronavirus infection in the hospital, 715 of whom are in the ICU. That is roughly the same number as on New Year’s Eve.
Crucial hospital staff
Kuipers said that it is “very good news” that the cabinet has decided to start its vaccination programme on Wednesday. About 6,000 ambulance workers, as well as the 24,000 hospital workers that are the most crucial in the treatment of Coronavirus patients will be the first to receive the jab.
According to Kuipers, crucial hospital personnel including ICU nurses should be prioritised: “if a nurse like that falls off the schedule, that saves four IC beds.” Even though hospitals cannot oblige their employees to have themselves vaccinated, they are providing staff with a lot of information in the hope of convincing them, Kuipers says.
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