Since Tuesday, the helicopters have been transporting covid patients connected to medical devices in transparent plastic boxes. Most of them breathe only with the help of artificial lung ventilation.
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The number of deaths from coronavirus infection in Belgium during the spring wave of the epidemic per capita was one of the highest in the world and currently the country registers the most infected in terms of population in Europe.
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Over 7,000 patients
There are now 7,231 patients with covid-19 in the country, which is home to 11.5 million people, 1302 of whom require intensive care. In some outbreaks, such as the city of Liège on the border with Germany, the beds in the intensive care units are already fully occupied.
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Ambulances began transporting Belgian patients across the border last week, and German hospitals at the border have so far taken care of 15 of them. Rescue helicopters are now transporting the infected ones deeper into Germany.
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Olivier Pirotte, who organizes the transfers, said that air transport was necessary for some patients to save time. By land, transport to Münster, Germany, would take at least three hours, but it would take barely an hour by air. In this way, patients also avoid unwanted shocks caused by potholes on the road.
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Solidary Germans
The German ambassador to Belgium, Martin Kotthaus, said a mechanism had been set up to allow Belgian patients to be treated in hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia, which still had enough spare capacity.
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“In the first wave, Germany had more than 230 patients from Italy, France and the Netherlands. We are now expanding our assistance to Belgium,” Kotthaus said. “In the future, it could be the Germans who will need transport to Belgium,” he added.
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