assessed what should happen for Lithuania to reach the red line
It is envisaged that resuscitation units may be closed to service events, leisure and entertainment facilities may be closed or their opening hours restricted, and other restrictions may be imposed. Such measures were discussed in the government on Wednesday.
These considerations are against the background of a stable situation. 144 RITS beds were occupied on Friday morning, according to data from the Department of Statistics. Professor Mindaugas Stankūnas estimates that the highest occupancy of RITS was in the middle of October – 161 beds.
Representatives of Klaipeda and Siauliai hospitals lrytas.lt confirmed that COVID-19 bed occupancy in this facility declined slightly in November. True, the number of severe ones is successfully increasing in Panevėžys. It is not yet clear whether these waves of the virus have already been reached. Unfortunately, an increase in morbidity would certainly increase the number of critical conditions.
Professor: is a sign of good
Rector of Vytautas Magnus University (Vytautas Magnus University) Juozas Augutis notices that the workload of patients directly depends on the number of new infections. “It simply came to our notice then. I think the peak of the new average has already been reached. There is an indication that the decline in morbidity is beginning, ” lrytas.lt said J.Augutis.
The professor expressed hope that the peak of the autumn virus wave had already been reached, but did not rule out that the epidemiological situation could worsen.
According to him, the consequences of the increased movement of people and increased contacts during the long Late Weekend may come in the near future. The number of illnesses can also be negatively affected by the return of students to school after the autumn holidays.
J.Augutis explained that the limit set by the government for resuscitation beds would be reached if the spread of the virus increased significantly.
“The number of resuscitation beds there (mentioned in the Government’s plan for stricter restrictions – ed.) Is 240, so we were closer to two hundred beds during the autumn wave. Then the average number of cases per day was 3,000, maybe even a little bit.
It can be estimated that the rate of 240 resuscitation beds would be reached if the number of cases per day was higher than 3 thousand, it might be necessary to approach 4 thousand. I hope that there will be no such, “J. Augutis added.
True, he wondered whether it would really be necessary to wait until such a difficult situation to impose stricter restrictions.
“I would say that perhaps that indicator is high, maybe 200 resuscitation beds could be that limit,” J.Augutis commented on the government’s plans.
He recalled that even during the second wave of the virus last winter, the maximum number of COVID-19 resuscitation beds was 260.
The professor added the government’s practice of anticipating clear criteria for taking the most positive action.
What is the situation?
According to the data of Friday, COVID-19 diseases were treated at the Republican Šiauliai Hospital for about 80 years, 18 of them in the intensive care unit. The youngest patient treated here is 32 years old and the oldest is 86 years old.
According to RŠL spokeswoman Sonata Tenytė, most (12 out of 18) resuscitations have not been vaccinated.
“All 18 have co-morbidities. Consequently, the condition is really not easy, because the co-morbidity of COVID-19 complicates the course of the disease, ”S. Tenytė noted.
There is a declining number of coronavirus patients in the treatment facility, with more than a hundred check-ups in the general department a year ago.
“If we talk about the load of the general and resuscitation departments, then the load was higher last week. Then the resuscitation ward was over 20, that number went towards 30.
at the end of the first week, at the beginning, we noticed a slight decrease in this. But it’s too early to rejoice here and draw far-reaching conclusions. For example, during the last day, 6 new patients were hospitalized in the intensive care unit, ”said a representative of RŠL.
According to her, the number of the resuscitation department is difficult to predict, it may increase at any time. “It cannot be calm that there will be less today, this morning will be exactly the same,” S. Tenytė assured.
She added that there are no plans to reduce the number of beds in COVID-19 patients for the time being, and that the pandemic situation is continuing.
The decrease in the demand for RITS beds is also observed in Western Lithuania. Klaipeda University Hospital on November 8. announced that 15 RITS beds were occupied. At that time, on November 3rd. – 19 October and 25 October – 23.
“In recent weeks, KUL has been witnessing a steady increase in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19. A total of 107 patients with COVID-19 are currently being treated in the 14-resuscitation and intensive care unit.
Most importantly, there has been no increase in resuscitation patients in the last 3 weeks. Resuscitation units are not overloaded, ”said Aistė Noreikaitė, a representative of KUL, in a comment sent to lrytas.lt on Thursday.
Slightly different mood in Aukštaitija. Deputy Director of the Republican Panevėžys Hospital (RPL) for medicine dr. Mindaugas Vaitkus states that work intensity and workload have increased both physically and psychologically.
“This week, the number of patients with COVID-19 in the Infectious Diseases Clinic is stable, about 55-60 and changes insignificantly, and the number of resuscitation-intensive care in the ward is more variable.
Today, 4 patients with COVID-19 are being treated in the RPL intensive care unit, ”M. Vaitkus commented on Friday.
The majority of resuscitation units are unvaccinated
On Wednesday, the Department of Statistics released estimates of the number of times fewer people vaccinated are hospitalized. At that date, there were 1,258 unvaccinated patients and 441 vaccinated individuals hospitalized for COVID-19.
Given that the protection of vaccines has acquired 70%. the adult population, which is mostly treated in hospitals, is found to be hospitalized 7 times more often without vaccine protection.
Similarly, an unvaccinated patient occupies the majority of RI beds. As of Wednesday, 118 RITS patients had not been vaccinated and 26 had received vaccine protection.
According to the Department of Statistics, those who have not been vaccinated are 11 times more likely to be in resuscitation.
True, at the same time the record of the Department of Statistics notes that these are only approximate calculations. Evaluating the effectiveness of correct vaccines is much more complex and takes into account many of the nuances required. You can read more in the post.
2641 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Lithuania for the first time on Thursday, 14 people died, the Department of Statistics reported on Friday.
Since the start of the pandemic, 6,271 people have died from the disease caused by the COVID-19 virus. four people aged 60-69, three aged 70-79, five aged 80-89 and two aged 90-99 died during the day. 10 of them were not vaccinated.