Record Covid-19 infections, Germany sends air force to transport critically ill patients
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said authorities may mobilize military aircraft to move seriously ill Covid-19 patients from areas with high ICU occupancy rates to areas with low capacity.
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| Inside an A310 aircraft fully equipped with medical equipment to transport seriously ill Covid-19 patients. Photo: DPA |
This solution is temporary, not permanent. Otherwise, the health system could face localized overload. The announcement was made by Mr. Spahn at a press conference on November 26, at a time when Germany received a sad record of more than 100,000 deaths from Covid-19 since the outbreak.
Speaking to reporters, Minister Spahn and the director of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said that the German military is ready for an airlift operation to move about 100 seriously ill patients to other hospitals where the ICU vacancy rate is higher. "It may take one or two flights to transport 80-100 patients, but not for long. We need to control this wave now, otherwise Germany will fall into the situation that we have always wanted to avoid - that is, overloading the health system," Mr. Spahn said.
Starting on November 26, the German Air Force began moving critically ill Covid-19 patients requiring intensive care from the southern state of Bavaria to hospitals in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where ICU occupancy rates are low. The southern states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, along with the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia, are currently the hottest spots in Germany, with new cases far exceeding the national average, putting enormous pressure on the health system.
Currently, Germany has about 4,000 Covid-19 patients in ICU, of which about 2,000 are newly admitted in the last 7 days. 85% of them need oxygen support in various forms and levels.
