LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal said on Saturday that there were only seven empty beds left in intensive care units (ICUs) set up for COVID-19 cases on the mainland, as an increase in diseases prompted some authorities. sent emergency patients to the islands of Portugal.
Ministry of Health data showed that out of 850 ICU beds allocated to COVID-19 cases on the mainland, there were now 843 beds. The country has an additional 420 ICU beds of 10 million people for those with other illnesses.
The ministry said the number of daily infections was 12,435, dipping from Thursday’s record, while 293 were dying.
Portugal, which to date has a total of 12,179 COVID-19 deaths and 711,018 cases, has the seven-day follow-up average of cases and deaths per person, according to data administrator www.ourworldindata.org.
The Ministry of Justice said on Friday that their institute of forensic medicine, whose job involves handling autopsies for the police and others, had asked for a ventilation truck to hold bodies with it. that funeral homes were unable to bring them fast enough.
An association representing funeral homes said public hospitals were also running out of a cooling area to store bodies. Some hospitals have installed cold vessels to reduce stress on their morgues.
With mainland beds running low, three patients in need of emergency care were flown from Lisbon to the island of Madeira in Portugal on Friday, where the health system is under less pressure.
The government has reacted to the rise in diseases as a result of a decision to rest over the Christmas period, blaming the speed at which diseases have spread on a newly discovered variety. first in Britain.
Portuguese health institute Ricardo Jorge told Lusa news agency that the variant tended to report 65% of new COVID-19 cases within three weeks. Portugal has extended lock-in to mid-February and imposed strict travel restrictions.
Reciting with Sergio Goncalves and Catarina Demony; Edited by Edmund Blair