In a press conference of the Ministry of the Interior, Health Minister Jan Blatný expressed his frustrations with the current handling of anti-covid measures.
The main sentiment of his speech seemed to call upon the public to take personal responsibility because it is all in their hands now.
Minister Blatný stated that the situation is even more critical now as just Wed. alone saw 10,813 new COVID infections detected, over six thousand reported to be hospitalized, two dozen people on artificial blood circulation.
Hospitals across the country are already at their maximum capacity and the situation does not look promising. It’s estimated that five out fourteen Czech regions will have no free hospital beds by the end of Feb. Currently hospitals in both Prague and Karlovy Vary have less than ten percent capacity remaining.
The minister believes that foreign aid may be able to donate hospital beds but only a fraction of what will be needed if the country’s hospital system collapses. Blatný believes the Czech Republic will require thousands of beds donated and more than any foreign intervention will be able to provide.
Meanwhile, the return of children to schools and the reopening of retail shops are still planned for the near future. Blatný has stated that he has no reason to believe children returning to schools would not worsen the situation.
During the press conference, Blatný asked the nation’s Chief Hygienist to remind the public to keep observing all the personal hygiene practices that have been advised. This reminder comes as the more aggressive British mutation of the virus continues to spread throughout the Czech Republic.
The main takeaway from the health minister’s press conference was that the situation is much more dire now. The handling of this health disaster seems to now be in the hands of the public which has a personal responsibility to one another.
The solution to this crisis may be the “conscious approach of people,” as Blatný stated.
There are currently 108,527 active cases with the PES epidemic system’s score of 75 points out of 100 and the reproduction number at 1.08 as of Thursday.
