Hospital beds in some regions of Slovakia to be set aside for COVID patients

According to Health Ministry representatives, the situation in Slovakia is getting worse, with 1,000 new coronavirus cases a day expected next week.

The seven-day average currently stands at 900 cases per day, last week the average was 500 people tested positive per day. There are more than 300 patients admitted to hospitals with COVID-19. «All data show a more significant increase compared to last week,» noted head of the Health Ministry’s Health Analysis Instituted Matej Misik.

New cases are also appearing among children. This confirms the assumption that the spread of novel coronavirus will be mainly in schools, stated Misik, adding that there is a significant incidence of new cases among parents of school children.

According to Misik, hospitals are currently nine percent full compared to the previous pandemic wave. «However, the situation is different across regions and hospitals. There are hospitals that have already reached more than 20 percent of their maximum occupancy,» said Misik. This includes, for example, hospitals in Presov, Stara Lubovna or Michalovce. The highest number of patients admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 are in Kosice region.