State buying 4,000 hospital beds due to “catastrophic” Covid numbers

The Czech state is purchasing 4,000 new hospital beds in view of the current exponential growth in Covid-19 cases in the country. One thousand of the beds will be for patients in a critical condition. The prime minister, Andrej Babiš, said the coronavirus numbers in the country were “catastrophic” and the state needed to act fast. The new beds, produced by the company Linet, should start arriving at the weekend.

Mr. Babiš told reporters on Thursday that he had contacted spa facilities with a view to them taking in patients, in view of the situation. He said he had also spoken to facilities in Bavaria but would prefer for the Czech Republic to handle the strain itself.

In addition the Czech Army is building a field hospital with a capacity of 500 beds in Prague's Letňany district this weekend.