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Status: 08.10.2020 3:36 pm
The number of corona infections also increased dramatically in Lower Saxony in one day. That could soon mean that more people will have to be treated again in the hospital.
It is still mainly young people who are infected with Corona. In this age group, the disease rarely progresses seriously and those affected can usually be cured at home. According to a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, fewer than 200 corona patients currently have to be treated in the Lower Saxony hospital. However, with its rapid spread, the virus also increasingly reaches older people and people with previous illnesses who then need medical treatment. How well is the Lower Saxony health system prepared for this?
Fewer hospital beds overall, more intensive care beds
Looking at countries like France and Spain, where the number of infections has risen rapidly, you can see how quickly hospital capacities are reaching their limits, the ministry spokeswoman said. In Germany, hospitals are required to keep a certain number of beds available for Covid 19 patients. Should this become scarce in Lower Saxony, an “automatic alarm system” said the spokeswoman. Then more steps would be taken, such as reviving rehab clinics to treat corona patients. In Lower Saxony, the number of hospital beds decreased significantly from 1991 to 2020. While there were 55,804 beds in 1991, there are currently 40,194. However, the number of intensive care beds increased from 1,593 to 2,637 in the same period.
Improvised hospital for 485 patients at the fairgrounds
To be prepared for a large number of corona patients, the Hannover region commissioned Deutsche Messe AG to establish a makeshift hospital in late March. The makeshift clinic has 485 beds, medical equipment, and sanitary facilities. If the on-demand clinic were fully utilized, according to project manager Marcus Eibach, up to 1,500 doctors and nurses would see patients in three shifts. However, because the capacities of the regular clinics were sufficient even at the height of the pandemic in spring, the makeshift hospital at the fairgrounds has yet to be used. It is currently in sleep mode, but could be up again in four weeks. According to Eibach, there is only one similar on-demand clinic in Berlin in the whole of Germany.
320 new corona cases in Lower Saxony
The number of new corona infections has skyrocketed across the country. The Robert Koch Institute reported 4,058 new cases in one day. There were 320 new corona cases in Lower Saxony, and thus more than since the beginning of April. For the first time since mid-September, three people died from Covid-19 in one day. Lower Saxony Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) expects the new figures to be a very challenging time. “It’s really scary because it’s a huge jump from one day to the next.”
Limit exceeded in three counties and one city
Meanwhile, three districts have passed the critical mark of 50 new corona infections per 100,000 residents in seven days. In Vechta district, the seven-day incidence is 68.8 cases per 100,000 population. In the Emsland district, the seven-day incidence is 55.4 cases: there is an access point in a slaughterhouse in Sögel. In the Wesermarsch district, the incidence value is 56.4 cases. In Delmenhorst, too, the number of new infections per 100,000 residents rose to 63.7 in seven days, making the city a corona risk area. For vacationers from regions where the critical limit value has been exceeded, Lower Saxony wants to initiate a ban on accommodation.
08.10.2020 15:04 pm
Editor’s Note: In an earlier version of this article, we falsely claimed that there was a slaughterhouse at Emstek in the Vechta district. It is true that Emstek is in the Cloppenburg district. Excuse the mistake.
Additional Information
Crown in Lower Saxony – current reports
