Minister Philippe De Backer (Open VLD): “Belgium is ready for …

Our country is prepared for a possible second wave of the coronavirus, in terms of protective equipment, medicines, tests and medical equipment. That said State Secretary Philippe De Backer (Open VLD) during a press conference about the work of the task force ‘Testing & Shortages’.

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De Backer pointed out that a very large capacity of PCR tests was built up very quickly. After two weeks, the test capacity of 10,000 was reached and today the capacity is at 45,000. Belgium has already taken more than 1 million tests and is in the top ten in the world in terms of the number of tests per 1,000 inhabitants. The clinical labs can now take back the role, he said. There are also sufficient immunity tests available, which makes our country regarding testing is ready for a possible second wave.

There has never been a shortage of medicines during the corona crisis, according to the state secretary. “We anticipate future waves,” he added.

Mondmaskers

As far as personal protective equipment is concerned, our country faced major challenges. There was a shortage of mouth masks and other material on the international market. There was also no certainty about the quality and it was not easy to get the material to Belgium. The task force succeeded in closing the deficits. “We have always been able to make emergency deliveries,” said De Backer. During the crisis, the task force was also able to build up a strategic stock that is more than enough to handle a second wave.

In the first line, there is a decentralized strategic stock of 87 million surgical masks, over 4 million aprons, just under 90,000 face shields and over 38 million gloves. At the end of August, the strategic federal stock consists of nearly 200 million surgical masks, over 33 million FFP2 masks, nearly 20 million aprons, nearly half a million face shields, and nearly 2 million gloves.

Medical equipment

For the medical equipment, the buffer stock ensured that no hospital was confronted with shortages. The problems with oxygen therapy in home care and residential care centers could be resolved quickly by acting across jurisdictional boundaries, said Secretary of State De Backer, who emphasized that federal stock is still up to par and ready for a second wave of contamination.

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