RIGA, Oct 20 (LETA) - Intensive care beds for the treatment of severely ill Covid-19 patients are fully occupied in several hospitals, Health Minister Daniels Pavluts (For Development) informed at a government meeting on Tuesday.

He admitted that the load on intensive care beds for Covid-19 patients has increased significantly in recent days. Data compiled by the Ministry of Health show that the occupancy of these beds has reached 86 percent.

"Part of the intensive care beds are for Covid-19 patients, and in many hospitals they are all fully occupied. This means that new severe Covid-19 patients can only be treated in intensive care at the expense of another, conventional intensive care bed conversion," the politician said. .

According to him, this reduces the number of intensive care beds for other patients - those injured traffic accidents, with polytraumas, cardiovascular diseases and others.

 The Health Ministry informs that intensive care beds for Covid-19 patients are fully occupied in Balvi, Tukums and Jekabpils hospitals, as well as North Kurzeme regional hospital in Ventspils. The ward at Riga East Clinical University Hospital is also overcrowded.

At the same time, beds for Covid-19 patients with medium symptoms at Balvi, Tukums and Bauska hospitals are also fully filled.

Also, the number of emergency medical service calls to Covid-19 patients and the number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients has continued to increase over the past week.

There is also a gradual increase in the number of medical professionals who have become infected with Covid-19, as well as those who must observe self-isolation. Currently, 308 medical staff in 40 inpatient facilities and their branches are infected with Covid-19.