(Warsaw) Warsaw City Hall said on Wednesday its hospitals were running out of ventilators for COVID-19 patients as the country, with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the EU, battles a significant wave of new infections.
“According to the data we received today, there was not a single respirator available,” Warsaw City Hall deputy spokeswoman Marzena Wojewodzka told AFP. “This is of course a worrying sign. “
We also find that most of these patients are not vaccinated.
Warsaw City Hall Deputy Spokeswoman Marzena Wojewodzka
Mme Wojewodzka said nine ventilators had to be borrowed from other services because the 104 available for COVID-19 patients were not enough.
She clarified that she was only talking about municipal hospitals, as she did not have data on academic or government institutions located in the capital.
Poland is currently the 20e most affected country in the world in terms of COVIID-19 contamination relative to its population, according to AFP’s count, with a rate of 433.3 cases per 100,000 people during the last week.
The Ministry of Health said Wednesday 28,542 new in this country of 38 million inhabitants. It reported 592 new deaths.
The government announced new restrictions on Tuesday, with stricter gauges in restaurants, hotels, transport and churches, as well as the closure of discos and clubs, from December 15.
Travelers (outside the Schengen zone) arriving in Poland will be required to be tested for COVID-19 24 hours before entering the country.
In public transport, the gauge will be authorized at 75% of capacity.
Poland plans to make COVID-19 vaccination compulsory for healthcare workers, teachers and law enforcement officials, from 1er March.
The Polish nationalist populist government has so far been very cautious about following other European countries that have adopted vaccination certificates or compulsory vaccinations.
The reluctance to be vaccinated is very strong in Poland: only around 54% of the population is fully vaccinated.
Much of the opposition and the medical community are calling on the government to take tougher measures against the pandemic.