THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to surge across Germany, hospitals are under pressure to prepare for treating severely ill patients.
Staff in many hospitals in Germany are currently “working at the limits of their capacity,” Uwe Janssens, president of the Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), told a press conference on Tuesday.
Speaking alongside German Health Minister Jens Spahn, Janssens urged hospitals in regions with high infection numbers to “end normal operations as soon as possible.”
“Where it is medically justified, procedures must be halted and postponed,” Janssens said, adding hospitals need to conserve resources.
READ ALSO More than 21,000 new coronavirus infections in Germany in a single day
Although Germany currently has enough beds and ventilators available nationwide, Janssens said a “key problem” would be the lack of medical personnel to treat patients needing treatment like anesthesia and ventilation.
More coronavirus patients in intensive care
According to the latest numbers from DIVI’s register of intensive care beds in Germany, there are currently around 7,230 free intensive care beds across Germany out of a total of more than 28,700.
On 3 November, there were 2,388 COVID-19 patients receiving intensive care treatment in Germany, with that number currently rising every day, and adding nearly 2,000 patients since 3 October. More than half of those cases are receiving invasive ventilation, according to DAVI.
READ ALSO Corona Lockdown: These rules apply in Germany in November
A nationwide partial lockdown began Monday in Germany. On Tuesday, Germany added over 15,350 COVID-19 cases, according to the Robert Koch Institute.
Regional differences
Spahn, who recently recovered from a COVID-19 infection, said the situation in Germany was “serious,” albeit with large regional differences.
The percentage of COVID-19 patients occupying intensive care beds ranges from 18% in Berlin to less than 3% in Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein, according to DAVI.
Read more: Traveling to Germany: What you need to know about coronavirus restrictions
During the first wave of coronavirus in the spring, the German government ordered hospitals to delay non-emergency procedures and operations. Such a blanket order has not yet been reissued, and Spahn said Tuesday that a decision requiring hospitals to redirect resources rests with the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states.
Spahn added that he agreed with Janssens that it was “very important” to delay operations when medically possible, adding that Berlin would provide hospitals with support to deal with the crisis.
“No clinic should be economically disadvantaged because of the coronavirus,” he said.
wmr/rc (AFP, Reuters)/© DW
READ ALSO Website informs migrant communities about COVID-19 in English, French, other languages
