Prymula: State of Emergency is Needed

To get medicine students involved in hospitals, we need to return to the state of emergency, said the Minister of Health Roman Prymula (for ANO) to the members of Parliament on Tuesday. Prymula wants to reenact the state of emergency to be able to enforce new restrictions to tackle the spread of the coronavirus.

According to Prymula, the capacity of hospital beds is still sufficient, but for further progress it is already necessary to restructuralize the available spaces in the regions and use the beds used for other diagnoses.

According to him, experts agreed that the strategy of a quick intervention for a short time and then release, is the most effective strategy and also the cheapest one. The new restrictions (maximum ten people inside, maximum twenty outside) will affect cultural and sporting events, Prymula admitted. The measures will also have an economic effect but they be in place only for 14 days and then the government will loosen the measures again, he added.

In the case of sporting events, professional competitions will take place, but without spectators. Opera and musicals will not be performed, as the virus spreads intensively through singing. Unlike in the spring, the government will not set a special time for shopping for seniors in stores. But the government advices them to limit visits to various facilities and reduce the risk of becoming infected.