TILBURG –
In just two weeks, the corona virus took Brabant in its hold. The government hopes to stop the virus by taking drastic measures. A new phase has now begun, certainly in Brabant, says the RIVM.
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The press conference of the cabinet and RIVM spoke in official language about the ‘mitigation phase’. The rapid spread of the virus means that the GGDs can no longer keep up with contact investigations. Damming, which has been preached so far, is therefore an almost impossible task. The grip on the virus seems to be lost.
In hospitals and care homes, the focus is on sick and older people. If necessary, they should have priority testing for the coronavirus and proper care. Even if there is a shortage of materials, emphasizes Aura Timen, head of the National Coordination Center for Infectious Disease Control at RIVM. “It is important that we can quickly find out what is going on with them.”
Keeping the peak load in hospitals under control is therefore very important. “Only then can those affected be helped in time,” explains Timen.
The coronavirus can be a great danger for the elderly. That shows death rates in Italy: 81 years is the average age of the people who die from the virus there. Often they were already weakened by chronic diseases. The infectious disease can lead to double pneumonia, which leads the elderly to intensive care. However, Italian hospitals cannot handle the influx of patients.
Extra attention for vulnerable people
That is not an easy task. A capacity problem threatens to arise in hospitals in Brabant. This is due to the sharp increase in the number of infections in our province. Of the 614 infected people, 273 live in Brabant. The source of the virus was unknown for more than half.
Experts suspect that far more people have coronavirus among its members than is officially known. According to Jos van de Sande, former head of infectious disease control at GGD Hart voor Brabant, this has caused a tipping point. “We no longer have control over the infection pattern,” he explains.
Avoid Italian conditions
Measures announced on Thursday are intended to prevent Italian conditions. And temporary ‘social abstinence’ plays a crucial role in this. In this way, the aim is to prevent the unnoticed spread of the virus to vulnerable elderly people. Brabant is at the forefront of this, because according to the RIVM, the pressure on hospitals is increasing day by day.
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View the cabinet’s press conference below
