If the restrictions imposed by the government work and society becomes more responsible, we may see a reduction of hospitalized Covid-19 patients by Christmas, said the director of Latvian Emergency Medical Service Liene Cipule in an interview to Latvijas Radio in the morning 11 October.
Considering the state of emergency declared in the medical sector and the decision by medical institutions to restructure their operations and resources, there were fewer delays with arrival of ambulance teams to high-priority calls. However, there are still many outpatient cases when ambulances have to fight for a place for their patients, considering there aren’t many beds available for non-Covid-19 patients, says Cipule.
«There are some hospitals at which queues are observed, which creates considerable stress, because while ambulances are waiting to have their patients admitted to hospitals they are at risk of running out of oxygen reserves.»
«Hospitals in Rezekne and Jelgava are in a critical situation. In Riga, on the other hand, we observed improvements, because large hospitals opened new beds,» says NMPD manager.
Cipule says NMPD has turned to healthcare institutions with a request to open expand the number of beds available for Covid-19 patients.
Considering the fact that Covid-19 has forced NMPD to focus only on calls dealing with life-threatening situations, every day approximately 100 people are are asked to seek medical assistance from general practitioners if their lives are not at risk.
In regards to the Latvian government’s recently re-approved epidemiological restrictions, Cipule says the situation is unlikely to improve quickly.
This would be the case regardless, even if the government adopted even tighter restrictions.
«We know very well that the situation will not improve in the coming month. In the next two weeks we have to be able to hospitalize as many patients as we see now. For a month now we’ve lived with the thought that things are unlikely to improve soon. If restrictions turn out effective and residents finally understand the severity of the situation, we can expect a reduction of Covid-19 by Christmas,» predicts Cipule.
Latvia’s government has declared a state of emergency in the country. It will remain in force from 11 October until 11 January 2022. The state of emergency also introduced a number of epidemiological restrictions. These restrictions affect non-vaccinated people the most.
Reduction of Covid-19 patients depends on people’s behaviour and respect of restrictions, says NMPD director
