- TIRANA – “There are 127 new COVID-19 cases confirmed while 6 patients have lost their lives in the last 24 hours,” said on Thursday Dr. Eugena Tomini from the Institute of Public Health (ISHP).
These are the latest figures provided by the update from the Health Ministry and details show that 531 tests were performed on suspects affected by COVID-19 bringing the total number of tests to 43, 589.
“Currently 119 patients are hospitalized at the Infectious Diseases Hospital and “Shefqet Ndroqi” Hospital and 22 of them are in intensive therapy, while 4 are intubated,” said Dr. Tomini. The number of cured patients is 32 in the last 24 hours and more than 1,000 active infected persons are being cured by the family doctor according to the protocols.
The Health Minister, Ogerta Manastirliu said on Thursday that more than 1,600 family doctors had been engaged to attend the cases of citizens suffering from COVID-19 at their houses in the self-quarantine status. According to her, about 1,000 patients were treated at their houses across Albania, especially in Tirana where it is the highest number of the infected people.
There are over 2,500 C19 active cases in Albania.
In face of the worsening situation, two new hospitals are ready to be opened in case that the two existing hospitals are full. A statement by the Health Ministry said that C19 hospitals 3 and 4 are ready “to receive the medical staff and citizens who can get healthcare service”.
“As we have informed earlier, Covid-3 and Covid-4 Hospitals are completely equipped and ready to receive the medical staff that will work and the patients who need medical treatment,” said the statement of the Health Ministry.
In the meantime, the senior official of the Democratic Party (DP) in charge of health care Bardh Spahia put in question the effectiveness of the test kits used by Albanian public medical institutions. According to him, the kits provide false results. Spahia, a doctor by profession, asked the Health Minister to make public the origin of the serological test kits and which is the ratio of their false results.
According to him, the lack of transparency to citizens brings distrust to this government and the feeling of abandonment. “Citizens are left at the mercy of destiny and this is serious!”
Spahia said that Albania is passing through an unknown situation of the virus behavior in the coming months and health authorities have turned into spokespersons repeating hygiene rules.
As a matter of fact the ISHP official, Tomini closed her daily medical bulletin on Thursday by the cliché statement: “Your (citizens) cooperation is vital to curb the spread of Covid19! If you have signs of illness, isolate yourself and call the National Emergency number, 127.”
Citizens and opposition have repeatedly raised the alarm that it is difficult, even impossible sometimes, to get in touch with the emergency number, and many fatalities are happening, as it is alleged, because infected people are hospitalized when the disease has worsened to no hopes of recovery.
The distrust in the health system has also increased because senior officials and tycoons go abroad when infected by coronavirus. Such a claim circulating in social media outlets has not been denied by the relevant government health authorities. / argumentum.al
