RIGA, Oct 19 (LETA) - In an interview with the Latvijas Avize newspaper today, the head of Daugavpils Hospital Grigorijs Semjonovs said that the hospital is approaching capacity limit - there are currently at least 190 hospital beds being used by Covid-19 patients, and the hospital can free-up a maximum of 260 beds for these patients.

To date, 213 beds have been planned for Covid-19 patients, and 190 beds have already been filled. "We are always thinking about reserves, the problems are also affecting the hospital. We have a total of 450 beds on 12 floors. Covid-19 patients with a separate isolated entrance have so far been allocated 15 beds. But now we have increased this number to 32 beds, because in the last week an average of 30 new patients are admitted each day, and everything fills up quickly," said Semjonovs.

The head of the hospital informed that already at the beginning of the year there were two well-equipped modules outside the hospital buildings, which can accommodate Covid-19 patients whose condition is not too severe, but who need medical supervision and health stabilization.

"We can install additional modules of this type, but with all of them, the maximum number of Covid-19 patients we can admit is 260 patients. That would be our limit. After that, it will no longer be possible to ensure beds. Tents? This would be a last resort. However, it must be understood that severe patients who artificial breathing equipment would not be treated there, it is not realistic," stressed Semjonovs.

Asked to compare this and last winter's Covid-19 wave, Semjonovs admitted that there are many more hospitals patients this time, the maximum threshold that was reached was 145 patients last winter, but now there are already 190 Covid-19 patients receiving hospital treatment.

"And this is probably just the beginning. I anticipate that the worst phase for the hospital could be around mid-November," Semjonovs predicted, "then patients will start to be discharged more often. Colleagues say that by that time the flow of patients should stabilize and bed occupancy should decrease."

In total, only 46 percent of the 1,600 employees in the hospital have been vaccinated against Covid-19 - almost all doctors have been vaccinated, but "vaccination is not going so well with other staff".