Merkel Proposes To Hospitalize Czech COVID-19 Patients In Germany - Prime Minister

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Tuesday that he held a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who offered hospital beds in Germany for Czech COVID-19 patients as a surge in cases strains hospitals in the country

PRAGUE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2021) Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Tuesday that he held a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who offered hospital beds in Germany for Czech COVID-19 patients as a surge in cases strains hospitals in the country.

The most severe situation is currently in the Karlovy Vary and Usti nad Labem regions near the border with Germany. The COVID-19 incidence rate in the regions is three to four times higher than the national average. Due to the overcrowding of local hospitals, new patients are transported to hospitals in other Czech regions.

"It was an unplanned conversation. Merkel has offered additional places for our COVID-19 patients at hospitals in Bavaria or other German states, if necessary," Babis told reporters adding that Merkel also promised to check the availability of beds in German facilities.

Earlier in the day, authorities in the Karlovy Vary region, which has already transferred over 200 patients to other parts of the country, said that Germany's Saxony reaffirmed its readiness to receive nine Czech infected with the coronavirus.

The current number of active cases in the Czech Republic stands over 120,000, with 6,572 of them receiving treatment in hospitals. A total of 1,329 patients are in intensive care units, marking the highest-ever number of severe cases since the outbreak.