Skip to main content

Germany to cover costs of foreign virus patients

Germany to cover costs of foreign virus patients

This picture handed out by the Land NRW federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia shows the inside of a MedEvac special military airplane equipped with an intensive care unit, on March 28, 2020 at the Cologne-Bonn airport in Cologne, western Germany, prior to the take-off to Bergamo, Italy, from where six patients infected with the new coronavirus were to be transported to the western federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia for further treatment. (AFP/Mark HERMENAU / various sources)
Germany will cover the cost for treating novel coronavirus patients taken in from European Union neighbour countries as a gesture of goodwill, Health Minister Jens Spahn said Monday.
Germany has been spared the worst of the coronavirus crisis seen in some of its hard-hit European neighbours, and has taken in patients — mainly from France — to relieve pressure on their overburdened healthcare systems.
A total of 229 foreign patients have been treated in Germany, a spokesman for the foreign ministry said Monday — 130 from France, 44 from Italy and 55 from the Netherlands.
Their treatment has so far cost about 20 million euros ($21.7 million), according to Spahn.
“Germany will cover the treatment costs of these patients, that is what we understand by European solidarity,” Spahn said ahead of a meeting of ministers tackling the virus crisis on Monday.
“The willingness and capacity is there to admit more if necessary,” he added.
The number of coronavirus deaths and infections in Germany has remained well below some of its neighbours.
As of Monday, Europe’s biggest economy had over 140,000 confirmed cases and 4,404 deaths, while Spain and Italy have reported more than 20,000 deaths each. France has close to 20,000 fatalities while Britain has more than 16,000.
Germany had 28,000 intensive care beds before the start of the crisis and has since increased that number to 30,000.
Over 12,600 beds remained free Sunday according to the Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive and Emergency Medicine (DIVI).
Spahn’s announcement came as many parts of Germany reopened some shops on Monday after weeks of lockdown.
The health minister said Friday the pandemic was “under control”.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

See how Tinubu reacts to #EndSARS protests, says police reforms has begun

 See how Tinubu reacts to #EndSARS protests, says police reforms has begun National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu has said the protest against police brutality in Nigeria is within the constitutional right of Nigerians. “Asiwaju Tinubu believes in the right of Nigerians to freedom of expression, assembly, and protest where and when necessary, he has always canvassed the need for people to explore peaceful channels to ventilate their views and demands,” Tinubu said in a statement by his media aide Tunde Rahman. “He believes the #EndSARS protesters have made their demands, which the Federal Government is studying.” Tinubu’s statement comes after being alleged of being one of the sponsors of the ongoing nationwide protest against brutality, extortion, harassment and extrajudicial killing by police personnel. The Cattle’s Breeders Association known as Miyetti Allah had earlier accused Tinubu of using the protest to distort the administration of President Muh...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trump backtracks on scrapping of White House coronavirus task force

Trump backtracks on scrapping of White House coronavirus task force President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to backtrack on plans announced the previous day to shut down the task force advising him on the coronavirus pandemic. The White House’s earlier suggestion that the high-level team could close around the start of June was Trump’s latest signal that he thinks it’s time to move on from the health crisis and reopen the economy. But in a series of tweets Wednesday, he said the task force had been so successful that it “will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN.” The president, however, said that he could “add or subtract people” to the group, which suggested the situation remained fluid. Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the task force, said Tuesday he was “starting to look at the Memorial Day window, early June window” for shutting it down. That holiday falls on May 25. The coronavirus task force has spearheaded...
Post a Comment
Read more

Operators seek tax holiday, subsidy to save airlines

Operators seek tax holiday, subsidy to save airlines Worried by the fate that awaits local carriers, operators yesterday, appealed to the Federal Government to introduce some economic recovery measures to safeguard airlines from collapse.    The operators, currently burdened by recurrent costs, are seeking aviation intervention fund at an interest rate of not more than five per cent. They suggested that government could take a cue from the American model of offering 50 per cent funding and grants, and 50 per cent palliatives through waivers and suspension of taxes, levies and fees among others.     Besides, they called for the implementation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Executive Order on Removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) from all forms of transportation; as domestic airlines are still the only forms of transportation paying VAT.    The current restriction of both local and foreign commercial flight services has forced domestic carriers into fin...
Post a Comment
Read more