The general director of Robert Schuman hospitals spoke to RTL this Monday morning. How are Luxembourg's hospitals weathering the storm?
According to Dr. Claude Schummer, the situation is stable at Kirchberg hospital. There are currently around 50 coronavirus patients. Less than 10 of them are in intensive care.
The hospital is well-equipped in terms of available beds, staff, and protective equipment, Dr Schummer optimistically explained.
The hospital is producing its own protective equipment such as disinfectant and protective clothing. The production of surgical masks will follow shortly. The hospital could then produce up to 30 million masks per year.
The patients are aged between 38 and 94. Younger people generally display milder symptoms than elderly patients. Some of the patients that are hospitalised did not have pre-exisiting conditions, Dr Schummer explained.
The general director of the hospital also urged ill people to come to the hospital. Fears of contracting the virus at the hospitals are ungrounded, he stressed.
The hospital strictly separates coronavirus patients from regular patients. The emergency room only records a third of its usual patient numbers.
Dr Schummer added that hospitals officials were hoping to find a way back into normal medical activity and increasing surgeries again.
When asked about the potential evolution of the virus spreading, the doctor explained that it was currently hard to provide a definite assessment. It is possible that there will be additional - if smaller - waves of new infections.
He roughly estimated that between 1 and 2 patients out of 100 do not survive the illness. 5 patients are transferred to the intensive care unit and another 15 are hospitalised.
Luxembourg's health care sector is able to cope with 100 infections per day. 200 infections would overload the hospitals in the long run. In that case, not every patient could receive treatment. It is therefore crucial to avoid this scenario, Dr Schummer concluded.
