Private and military hospitals thrown into Covid battle

With new coronavirus cases rising in the triple figures on a daily basis and the increasing number of patients stretching the capabilities of public hospitals, the Health Ministry is engaging the support of military and private facilities.

With a decision published on Thursday, the ministry is reserving facilities and beds at tertiary healthcare centers and military hospitals that will be used exclusively to treat medical staff infected with the novel coronavirus.

It also foresees Covid-19 patients being transferred to private hospital in the event of public hospitals reaching capacity and being unable to handle new admissions.

The private hospitals will be paid for providing services to the public health system with money set aside by the government in a special Covid-19 fund. The fund contains around 30 million euros that has been earmarked for emergency spending related to the health crisis.